The New Naruto Chronicles
by SSDuelist
Summary: A new Naruto timeline. Hope you enjoy. NaruHina
1. Meet the Uzumakis! A New Saga Begins!

AN: Here's my newest attempt at a story. You should be able to catch on how this one goes pretty fast.

Disclaimer: The author does not own _Naruto_, anything related to Masashi Kishimoto's works and ideas, except for characters, plotlines, or ideas invented by the author.

Chapter 1 – Meet the Uzumakis! A New Saga Begins!

"…get up…get up Naruto…" a voice somewhere in another room kept on shouting with an annoyed tone. The young man in question just ignored it and rolled over, immersing himself in the much more comfortable covers. Unfortunately, his attempt to hide didn't work, as his door flew open, and two voices erupted in unison, "GET UP NARUTO!" One came from the figure in the door, and the source of the other was within the young man's body, snorting as he tried to get back to sleep himself.

"I don't wanna, Mom…" Uzumaki Naruto muttered from under the covers, "I've got plenty of time to get to the academy…"

Uzumaki Kushina didn't look convinced, and her eyebrow twitched when her son didn't emerge from under the covers. Tossing her red hair over her shoulder, she smirked, and a moment later, glowing chains of chakra shot out of the ceiling and hoisted Naruto out of the bed by his arms. "If you think you can get a shower, dressed, eat breakfast, and to the academy in 15 minutes, you're a hell of a lot better than I am at getting ready. Sasuke was already up and gone 10 minutes ago, you know."

Naruto glared at her through sleep-encrusted eyes, and wrenched his arms free of the chains, which immediately disappeared. "Sasuke's an overachiever, Mom, and 15 minutes is so much time. You just take so much time because you're a girl…" he muttered. He slowly began to search his room for some clean clothes to wear.

"This girl is going to give you 5 minutes to get in the kitchen for breakfast before she comes into the bathroom and drags you out herself," Kushina shot back. Naruto just waved a hand at her as he walked by, underwear in hand, and his mom ruffled his hair before going back into the kitchen.

Naruto slogged into the kitchen five minutes later, looking slightly more awake than he did earlier, and sat down next to his father at the table. Namikaze Minato glanced at him before chuckling to himself and getting back to the morning paper as Kushina laid a plate of eggs and toast in front of her son. Naruto quickly dug into the meal, and Minato said, "You don't need to eat like a heathen, son. You've got plenty of time."

"Yeah, but now I'm getting excited because when I get back, I'm gonna be a genin!" Naruto said in between bites.

Minato chuckled and put the paper down. "You know, I heard that if certain young men did well on their graduation exam, they might get to start learning a new technique tonight."

Naruto stopped stuffing his face and looked up at his father in cautious excitement. "Really?" he asked slowly. When his father nodded, the excited young blonde exclaimed, "Yes!" and darted for the door.

"Naruto, you might need to use a tail to get there in time. Your mother wasn't kidding about you sleeping in!" Minato shouted after his son. He heard a rapidly fading, "Alright, Dad!" and shook his head in amused disbelief. He looked at his wife, who had come over with plates of food for the two of them, and said, "He becomes more and more like you every day."

"You have no room to talk," she retorted, "He looks more and more like you every day." He shrugged, a wide grin on his face, and started to dig into his food with a hungry fervor, not unlike his son's.

Outside, Naruto leapt over the wall surrounding his home and was soon surrounded by a reddish orange cloak of pure, bubbling chakra. His eyes darkened to red and narrowed into vertical slits, while the whiskers on his face grew more pronounced, and his fingernails lengthened into claws. Two ears and a tail of chakra also grew out of the cloak. Inside his head, he heard a deep voice rumble, "**So today they're going to let you become a genin. That may be the dumbest thing Konoha could do with the way you act.**"

'Shut up, you stupid fox,' Naruto thought, slightly irritated, as he ran on all fours through the streets of Konoha, 'You have no room to talk.'

In his head, Naruto appeared on the head of a gigantic orange fox, with demonic red eyes and nine swishing tails. The fox growled in annoyance, "**Watch it, boy. You're just lucky I like you so much.**" Naruto just laughed in response but quickly shut up when the Kyuubi added, "**Do you really think that trick you and your father concocted is really going to fool the teachers at that piddly academy of yours?**"

'Of course it is, idiot,' Naruto snapped, 'Iruka-sensei knows full well that because of you,' and here, Naruto kicked the Kyuubi's head a couple of times, inciting a long growl of anger, 'I don't have the chakra control to make intangible clones, but Shadow Clones are a different story. Besides, they probably just want to see the clones, not the technique used to make them.'

"**Probably…feh…**" the Kyuubi muttered, a few rattling laughs leaving his large throat.

Naruto skidded into the classroom a minute later, and the red chakra cloak covering him quickly dissipated. Looking around and not seeing his teacher, Iruka, anywhere, he breathed a sigh of relief and walked up to his seat, in between a dark haired boy and a girl with white eyes and dark purple hair.

As he sat down, the dark haired boy next to him smirked and said, "Nice of you to join us, Naruto. Did Mom manage to wake you up?"

The blonde glared at him and muttered, "Shut up, Sasuke." Uchiha Sasuke's smirk just grew wider.

"Come on, Sasuke. We both know Naruto-kun has issues waking up sometimes…" Hyuuga Hinata reprimanded him, giggling softly. Naruto gave her a despondent look.

"Come on, Hinata-chan! I thought you'd of all people would be on my side!" he whined. Hinata continued to giggle but finally gave Naruto a kiss on the cheek when he slipped his hand into hers.

At this point, any further exchange was cut off, as the door opened again, and an older man walked in, clipboard in hand.

"Alright, class! I hope all of you are ready for the graduation exam," Umino Iruka said loudly, "Today, you will be asked to produce three clones using the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique)…"

A boy sitting in front of Sasuke muttered, "This is so troublesome." Iruka coughed and glared at the boy, who had his eyes closed and didn't appear to be paying any attention to him.

"Shikamaru, if you would please not interrupt me, I'd appreciate it," Iruka snapped.

"Iruka-sensei, you've taught us for five years and made us do that troublesome Bunshin no Jutsu like, five hundred times. Shouldn't you know if we can do the technique by now?" Shikamaru countered.

Iruka opened his mouth to respond, but having nothing to respond with, he decided the best course of action would be to continue with the exam explanation, "As I was saying, when I call your name, please go next door to begin your exam. First up is Aburame Shino." A young man in the front of the room with bushy black hair and a high collared coat stood up and quietly followed Iruka out of the room.

The room slowly emptied over the next thirty minutes, and finally, Naruto was one of the few people left in the room. When he heard a shout of "Uzumaki Naruto!" from the next room over, he hopped out of his seat and practically ran to the door. When he entered the next room, Iruka was seated at a table along with two other teachers. One was a man named Mizuki, and another was Hyuuga Hizashi, whose Byakugan was currently activated. The latter nodded and smiled slightly to Naruto, who grinned back widely. Iruka finished writing something down and looked up at the blond boy, who was practically hopping up and down. "Alright, Naruto, please use the Bunshin no Jutsu to create three passable clones."

Naruto immediately brought his hands up into a handseal, with two fingers on each hand crossed, an action that was not lost with the three proctors. "Bunshin no Jutsu!" he exclaimed. With a small "poof!" three perfect clones appeared around him.

Iruka looked over to Hizashi, who examined the three clones for about thirty seconds before nodding his approval. The scarred teacher then said, "Excellent job, Naruto. You pass!" All four Narutos jumped up and down in happiness and started shouting happily. Iruka took one of the Konohagakure forehead protectors from the table in front of him and walked over to the celebrating blondes. "Naruto!" he shouted after a few seconds, trying to get the original's attention.

"Yeah, Iruka-sensei?" all four of them said in unison.

"Naruto, cut it out. Which one of you is the real one?" Iruka asked exasperatedly.

All four Narutos frowned slightly, and three of them disappeared in a puff of smoke. "You take all of the fun out of things, Iruka-sensei…" he muttered grumpily.

"It's my job," he retorted, "Now do you want your hitai-ate or not?" He held out the headband, and Naruto eagerly took it, quickly replacing the goggles on his forehead with it. "Now get out of here," Iruka said in a joking manner, "You aren't my only priority today, believe it or not, and I imagine your parents are dying to find out if you passed." Naruto grinned happily and all but ran out of the classroom, not noticing the calculating look sent at his back.

When he reached the entrance area of the academy, he saw Sasuke already standing with his mother along with Hinata, her younger sister Hanabi, and their cousin Neji. Neji and Sasuke were wearing a hitai-ate on their foreheads, Neji having had his for a year already, and Hinata's was around her neck. Kushina smiled widely when she saw her son running up and opened her arms to allow him to hug her tightly. "I see you passed!" she exclaimed.

"Believe it!" he shouted back happily as he and Hinata exchanged a hug. He noticed Sasuke's hitai-ate and added in a loud whisper, "Sasuke didn't pass, Mom, but they felt sorry for him so they let him have a souvenir headband."

Sasuke scowled and retorted with, "At least I didn't pass because I was too ugly and they wanted me out of the room because their watches were quitting on them." Both boys glared at each other for a few seconds before their scowls melted into grins, and they gave each other a high-five.

"Okay, that's enough, boys. Let's get home before you two start fighting again," Kushina said strongly, "Besides, I left your lunch going, and I don't want it to get ruined because you two held me up." Both boys' eyes lit up at the prospect of food, and the red haired woman could only roll her eyes as both started on a mad dash back to the Uzumaki residence. 'I swear, those boys will be the death of me,' she thought as she began to follow them at a more casual pace.

…xXx…

"Here you are, Hokage-sama. The list of academy graduates and the new class of genin for this year," Iruka said as he handed Minato a folder. The two of them, along with Hizashi and the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, were in the conference room within the Hokage Building in Konoha. Hizashi and Sarutobi were both already examining folders similar to the one Iruka had just handed Minato.

Minato opened the folder and scanned the list of graduates, a large grin on his face as he saw both Naruto and Sasuke's names among those who graduated. "This looks like a good batch of new genin. Are there any major surprises among those who graduated?"

"Not at all, Hokage-sama," Hizashi replied, "We might need to move a few of the kids around here and there, but overall, the proposed teams that we compiled last night should work out well."

Minato nodded with satisfaction. "Excellent. Iruka, Hizashi, if you could, make any adjustments you see fit with the teams, gather up the jonin instructors, and give them their team assignments." Both teachers nodded and took their leave after gathering up their things. Minato turned to the elder man with him and asked, "Sarutobi-sensei, if you aren't busy, would you like to have lunch with my family? I'm sure Naruto and Sasuke would love to see you."

"That sounds great. Kushina is a great cook," the former Hokage replied, quickly frowning as Minato pulled out a three-pronged kunai from a pouch. "But traveling to your home through space-time ninjutsu doesn't sound as much fun. Are you really going to make these old bones go through that?"

"Sorry, sensei, but I'm a hungry man, and my wife would kill me if I'm too late for lunch," Minato shot back. The elder Hokage sighed in defeat and took the proffered hand right before the two of them teleported away.

A few seconds later, the door to the conference room opened, and Mizuki stumbled in, starting to apologize but stopping once he saw that no one was in the room. Instead of the expected reaction, which would have been fright, the silver haired chuunin sneered and quietly shut the door to the conference room. A moment later, the door opened, and Uzumaki Naruto emerged. Carefully looking around, he saw nothing out of place, and he headed for the stairs that led to the higher levels of the main building of Konoha.

…xXx…

45 minutes later, four males of various ages rested comfortably in the living room of the Uzumaki household, their stomachs bursting at the seams from all of the food they had eaten. Kushina was in the kitchen, quietly shaking her head at the sheer amount of food that the men had inhaled for lunch and the subsequent amount of dishes that were left over.

"Now that was a good lunch," Minato breathed carefully. Content grunts from the other three men in the room indicated their approval.

Naruto shifted into a better position and asked, "Hey Dad, when are you going to give us our graduation present? You said you'd teach us a new move if we graduated." Sasuke's ears were also trained on Minato, though he kept his eyes shut.

Sarutobi perked up and added, "I'm curious as well, Minato. What have you picked out?"

Minato opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted by the arrival of an ANBU clad in a cat mask and a tan coat in the living room, who knelt down in front of the elder blonde. "Hokage-sama!" he said in an urgent voice, "We couldn't stop him, but ten minutes ago, your son absconded with the Scroll of Forbidden Techniques! Do you know where he might be?" Sasuke gave Naruto a look that said, 'What did you do now?' while Minato and Sarutobi wore matching confused expressions.

Kushina had poked her head into the room when she heard the ANBU arrive, and with a puzzled expression, she said, "Naruto has been with us for the past hour. There's no way he could have taken that scroll." The ANBU looked as shocked as an ANBU could look, but Kushina's statement was confirmed as he saw the young Uzumaki on the couch.

"I understand that now, Uzumaki-sama, but there was someone in the scroll library taking that scroll, and my patrol identified him as Naruto-sama," the ANBU shot back, sounding a little embarrassed, "Just as a matter of protocol, I need to search his room and the home. Hokage-sama, you are welcome to join me." Minato nodded tersely, and the two let the room.

They were not gone long, as Minato and the ANBU agent returned a minute later with the scroll in hand. "Well, apparently our double decided to plant this in Naruto's room," Minato said grimly. He turned to the ANBU and asked, "Did you manage to get a hit in on him before you left?"

Everyone in the room heard the ANBU chuckle, and Naruto knew that under the mask, he was smirking as he said, "Yeah, I did. He tried to use that Oirike no Jutsu (Sexy Technique) that your son invented awhile back, but I like to think that I have more willpower than that." Sarutobi coughed as a blush slowly stained his cheeks, and both Sasuke and Naruto smirked. "So when he dispersed that, I launched a good kick at his head that he tried to block with his wrist. Needless to say I heard a nice crack before he sent out a smoke bomb and got away."

"Well that at least gives us a place to start. I wouldn't worry about it too much, since we have the scroll back, but assign one of your teams to the hospital in case our boy tries to get treatment," Minato told the ANBU, who nodded before disappearing. The Hokage slumped back down into his chair, the forbidden scroll having been propped up against the table next to him.

"Minato, if you want me to take that scroll back with me to the main building. I was going to head back in a little bit," Sarutobi said, groaning slightly as he eased himself out of the chair he had been sitting in.

Minato perked up at the mention of the scroll, and a calculating, almost mischievous look slowly appeared on his face. "Actually, Sarutobi-sensei…do you mind if I bring it back later? I think I might need this for a couple of hours…"

The elder Hokage gave his successor a long stare and finally shrugged. "Whatever you say. I trust you will keep it safe until you return?" Minato, with the smirk still on his face, nodded. Sarutobi made his way to the door and exited.

As soon as he had left and the door had closed, Minato hopped to his feet and looked at the two young men in the room with him. Hoisting the scroll into his hands, he said, "Are you ready for your graduation present?" Naruto's face broke out into a huge grin, and Sasuke, while trying to retain a face of neutrality, also had a small grin on his face. "Technically I shouldn't be doing this, but I know Sasuke is dying to learn Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique), and Naruto can help with that while he upgrades up to Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique). If you two want, as soon as I find Mizuki-sensei and get his report on the graduation exam, we can go and practice until dinner."

"Wait, Naruto knows Kage Bunshin?" Sasuke asked, a slight frown appearing on his face.

"How else did you think I passed the graduation exam?" Naruto exclaimed indignantly, "That dumb fox's chakra won't let me do the Bunshin no Jutsu, so I had to fake it. They never said I couldn't. They just said I needed to make three clones, so I did it." He heard a low growl of, "**Watch it, idiot. I'll show you what it means for me to mess around with chakra.**"

Naruto's adoptive brother shook his head in amazement. "Only you would think to do that," he said ruefully.

"Don't let him claim all the credit, Sasuke. I might have helped him a little bit," Minato added, "Now let's get going to Mizuki's place. Hopefully this won't take too long. I was planning on having a short day today." He lifted the scroll and shuffled it into his arms and opened the door, allowing his two sons to walk out before he shouted back into the house, "Kushina, we'll be back in time for dinner, alright!" Hearing an affirmative response, he followed his sons out the door.

A couple of minutes later, the three men arrived at the apartment building where Mizuki lived. However, they were not alone, as an explosion in the upper levels of the building sent a figure shooting down onto the street. The ANBU agent from earlier landed on the street opposite of the figure from the new arrivals to the scene.

"What's going on here, Neko?" Minato shouted across the street.

"Hokage-sama!" the ANBU shouted in recognition, just as the man started to get up out of the crater, "I found the intruder from earlier! I received a report of someone with a broken arm clearing out their living space, and upon further investigation I discovered it was-"

"Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed in shock, interrupting the ANBU agent before he could finish. However, he was right, as the silver haired man, armed with two large Fuuma shuriken and favoring his arm, emerged from the crater. Blood trickled down his head as an audible growl escaped from his lips and he examined his surroundings. His broken wrist was somewhat stabilized by a makeshift splint.

"Damn, this is not what I needed," the chunin growled. Turning to the source of the one who had called out his name, his eyes widened as he saw the Fourth Hokage standing along with Sasuke and Naruto, and he started to carefully weave signs in order to not aggravate his arm. "I need to act fast!"

"Hold on!" the ANBU agent exclaimed, as he finished a quick string of handseals, "Raiton: Shichuu Shibari (Lightning Release: Four Pillars Binding)!" Before Mizuki could act on his technique, four rock pillars shot out of the ground, and electricity shot between them, forming an electric cage around him.

However, he was undeterred. As he finished the string of signs, he pulled one of the shuriken off of his back and wiped some of his blood on it. The weapon was immediately surrounded in a red coating of chakra.

Minato's eyes widened when he saw this, and he thought, 'How does he know that technique?' Out loud, he shouted urgently, "Neko! Get my kunai in the air!" The ANBU agent nodded, and as he pulled out one of Minato's special three-pronged kunai, the Hokage began to form a swirling sphere of lightning based chakra in his hand.

"Naruto…is that…" Sasuke asked, a look of shock and amazement crossing his normally stoic face.

"Yeah…my dad's Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere) technique…" Naruto responded, "He only pulls that out in special situations…"

Mizuki heaved the crimson shuriken at the 'ceiling' of the cage, and it sliced through the tendrils of lightning like they were nothing. He leaped up and grabbed the shuriken, only to be hit in the shoulder with a kunai. He had no time to react as Minato warped up, the kunai in hand and shoved the sphere into Mizuki's chest with a cry of "Raiton: Rasengan!" The sphere erupted into a swirling cacophony of lightning, but Mizuki didn't appear to be phased by it. Instead, his body began to melt into sludge and shot onto the surprised Hokage, wrapping around him and restricting all movements. He fell to the ground hard and stayed there.

"Hokage-sama!" Neko cried out. He made an attempt to jump towards the trapped leader, but a kick to the back sent him to the ground, and two more kunai through his hands trapped him there.

"That's payback for my arm," Mizuki muttered darkly. He walked away from the downed ANBU and slowly approached the trapped Hokage.

"Why, Mizuki?" Minato exclaimed urgently, "What happened to make you want to steal the scroll and betray the village?"

The silver haired chunin continued to walk over until he was standing right over the Hokage. He looked down at the trapped man for a moment before he pulled out another kunai. "Because I got a better offer elsewhere," he said stoically before he reared back and prepared to ram the knife into the Hokage's chest.

"Not so fast!" a voice behind him shouted angrily. Mizuki spun around and saw Naruto and Sasuke in the air behind him, both arms with their own kunai and both looking ticked off.

Momentarily off guard, the traitor recovered and shouted, "Sen'ei Jashu (Striking Shadow Snakes)!" Minato's eyes widened even more when he saw that technique, but he couldn't do anything as snakes shot out of Mizuki's sleeves and trapped Naruto and Sasuke back to back in a tight coil. Luckily Naruto got a shot off with his kunai, but it missed Mizuki and bounced off of one of his father's arms. As the mud cocoon was still around it, a minor dent formed there, but it quickly reformed back into the original shape.

"Damn pests…" Mizuki growled, ignoring Naruto's exclamations of his hatred of snakes. He turned back to the trapped Hokage, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "Now, let's try this again." His good arm swung the kunai downwards one more, but he was once again interrupted by the arrival of two more people to the scene.

"Hakke Kuushou (Eight Trigrams Empty Palm)!" Hyuuga Hiashi shouted, as a blast of pure chakra shot out of his outstretched palm and hit Mizuki right in the chest. As the traitor flew into a nearby building, Hiashi knelt down and started to channel chakra into the mud cocoon surrounding the Hokage.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed in worry, landing next to the two new genin. With a well-placed slice of her chakra covered palm, the snakes surrounding the boys exploded.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said gratefully, giving her a peck on the cheek as Sasuke nodded his agreement. Hinata smiled at her boyfriend, though her cheeks did slightly redden in embarrassment.

Hiashi managed to cut away the mud cocoon enough that Minato slipped away, and with no one to hold, the mud melted into a pile of dark liquid. "Thanks, Hiashi. How'd you know to come over here?" Minato asked curiously.

"Hinata and I were at lunch nearby, and we heard the explosion when we were about to head home," he explained. He then smirked, "Besides, there's not much these eyes don't see." Minato just nodded knowingly.

By now, Mizuki had dug himself out of the wall of the building he had been sent into, and he was not happy. "I'm really starting to get tired of all of these interruptions…" he growled. With his good arm, he made a half-tiger sign.

Minato and Hiashi were about to walk towards Neko to try to free him, but the mud pile shot up around them and threatened to engulf them. Minato, thinking fast, sent the kunai he still had in his hand flying away from the mud right before both men were engulfed by it. Hiashi was trapped, although he didn't appear to be too concerned about it, and Minato managed to teleport away, landing near Neko. A second later, Hiashi burst out of the cocoon as he expelled chakra from his entire body.

Mizuki looked dumbfounded, and he apparently decided that escaping with his life was better than fighting to the death, which is what would have happened if he stayed there. He made a leap for the rooftops, but a kunai was thrown right in his path, and the Hokage was soon behind it. Minutes later, an unconscious Mizuki was tied up and leaning against the wall.

"Alright, that's taken care of. Neko, I trust you can take care of him from here?" Minato asked of the injured agent. He nodded and started talking on a headset, asking for a prisoner transport team. He turned to the head of the Hyuuga and his daughter. "I appreciate your help, Hiashi, Hinata. I shouldn't have let it get that far."

"It was no problem, Hokage-sama," Hiashi waved him off, "We would do it any time." He motioned for Minato to move away from the kids, and once they were far enough away, he said seriously, "Were those snakes I saw?"

Minato nodded, though his face didn't express any worry. "Yeah, but I wouldn't worry about it. Ibiki will get anything out of him that he knows. That old snake wouldn't risk coming back here." Hiashi looked satisfied and bid his farewell to Minato and the two boys. Hinata gave Naruto a personal goodbye before leaving with her father as well.

Minato turned to the boys and said, "Well, are you ready to learn some new techniques, boys?" The grins on their faces gave him his answer all too quickly.

…xXx…

AN: Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of a hopefully epic saga. Please review and stay tuned!

New Technique Guide:

ANBU "Neko":  
Raiton: Shichuu Shibari (Lightning Release: Four Pillars Binding)

Hyuuga Hiashi:  
Hakke Kuushou (Eight Trigrams Kuushou)

Mizuki:  
Doton: Dorotai Kyuu (Earth Release: Mud Pile Coffin)  
Doton Kage Bunshin (Earth Release Shadow Clone)  
Fuuton: Ketsukei Kekkaikiri (Wind Release: Blood Contract Barrier Cutter)

Namikaze Minato:  
Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)

Uzumaki Kushina:  
Koushibari Kusari (Light Binding Chains)

Uzumaki Naruto:  
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)


	2. Enter Hatake Kakashi! Team 7 is Born!

AN: Chapter 2 coming right up!

Disclaimer: The author does not own _Naruto_, anything related to Masashi Kishimoto's works and ideas, except for characters, plotlines, or ideas invented by the author.

Chapter 2 – Enter Hatake Kakashi! Team 7 is Born!

"Hey, Dad! Here's my profile for the yearbook!" Naruto said as he entered his father's office. Sarutobi was sitting in a chair next to the desk. Sasuke and Hinata followed in behind Naruto, also clutching their profiles.

"I'd better not have to send you back because you took a stupid picture, Naruto," Minato said good-naturedly. Naruto's face took on a grumpy frown as he handed the sheet to his father. Minato look a quick glance at it and set it on a pile of other profiles, satisfied with what he saw. "Sasuke, Hinata, you can just set yours here if you'd like," he added, gesturing to the pile.

Before they could, however, the door to his office burst open, and a young boy dashed in with a shuriken in his hands, yelling, "Are you ready, old man?" The severity of the threat was downplayed, however, as the kid tripped over his long scarf and fell on his face.

Everyone in the room sweated in exasperation as they all thought the same thing, 'It's Konohamaru…'

A tall man in a black body suit rushed in a second later and shouted, "Honorable grandson, what are you doing?"

"Shut it, loser tutor! Grandpa, let's do this!" the kid shouted out. He had managed to pick himself up off of the ground, and he prepared to chuck the shuriken once again, but he saw Naruto next to his father, and all attack thoughts were lost. "Boss!" he exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

Naruto grinned down at the young man. "I was just turning in my genin profile." Konohamaru was in pure awe as Naruto turned to his father and said, "I'll see you later, Dad! Come on, Sasuke, Hinata-chan!"

"Chill out, Naruto. Ichiraku won't be sold out. There's no hurry," Sasuke said flatly as the three genin left the room.

"They will be when Naruto-kun is done there," Hinata added, giggling a little and earning a look of playful ire from her hungry boyfriend.

Meanwhile, Ebisu was trying to apologize to Sarutobi. "My apologies, Hokage-sama, I just went to the bathroom and he disappeared and-" However, Sarutobi interrupted him.

"Um, Ebisu..." Ebisu stopped his rant for a second. "Konohamaru seems to have disappeared with Naruto," Sarutobi noted with a small chuckle. Ebisu shrieked and ran after them.

"Why did you hire him again?" Minato asked with a grin once the aggrieved tutor was gone.

Sarutobi rubbed his forehead and sighed heavily. "I don't even know…"

...xXx...

Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata were just leaving Ichiraku Ramen, and Naruto was sighing contently at the large meal he had just consumed as he slung his arm around Hinata's soulders. Sasuke shook his head in utter amazement. "It's unbelievable how much ramen you can consume, Naruto."

"You're just jealous," Naruto sneered back at him, patting his full stomach. Sasuke shook his head in disbelief, but a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He motioned to Naruto, and the blonde looked at where Sasuke indicated and shook his head in disbelief.

"I can see you, Konohamaru! That's not doing anything to cover you!" Naruto shouted as he wheeled around and looked at an odd looking piece of wall, "It helps if you use the right side of the camoflauge!"

The 'wall,' really a piece of cloth, fell away, revealing the young Sarutobi. "I expect only the best from you, boss!" he said, "Now you gotta teach me that Oirike no Jutsu! Please, please, please!"

Naruto sighed and said, "I'll see you guys later." Sasuke nodded, and Naruto gave Hinata a quick hug and peck on the cheek before he sighed and said, "Okay, Konohamaru, let's go."

...xXx...

"Where are the little ruffians?" Ebisu asked no one in particular as he looked all over the city for them, to no avail.

...xXx...

"Oirike no Jutsu!" As soon as the smoke cleared, a fat, short, ugly woman stood in Konohamaru's place.

Naruto, absolutely repulsed, shouted, "No, thinner, cuter, taller!"

Konohamaru transformed back and said, "I'm trying, boss! It's hard!"

"Okay, okay, let's just rest for a moment. I want to ask you some questions anyways," Naruto said as the two sat down on a nearby log.

"Like what?"

"Well, first off, why do you attack grandpa Sarutobi like that? Did he forbid you from eating ramen or something?"

"It's because I want respect. No one ever sees me as Konohamaru. They only see me as the 'honorable grandson.' I want to become the Hokage so people will respect me and see me for who I am," Konohamaru said determinedly.

"Well, you'll have to get past me, because I'm the next Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed confidently.

'Wow, boss, you're so cool,' Konohamaru thought, his eyes shining in wonder.

"There you two ruffians are!" Naruto and Konohamaru turned around and saw Ebisu standing on a tree branch. He didn't look pleased as he said forcefully, "Now, honorable grandson, please come back!"

"No way, take this! Oirike no Jutsu!" Konohamaru shouted as he transformed into a nude, attractive brunette woman with barely concealing clouds around her.

Ebisu covered his eyes and shouted, "What kind of vulgar display is this? Who taught this to you?"

Konohamaru transformed back and was about to give up when Naruto marched up to Ebisu and shouted, "No one bashes my techniques like that and gets away with it! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Nine Naruto Bunshins appeared around Ebisu.

"So you know how to create Shadow Clones? That's not exactly a rare technique among the more elite of the village," Ebisu boasted.

"Well, then, take this! Haaremu no Jutsu (Harem Technique)!" Naruto and his clones shouted as they all transformed into naked, blond women that swarmed Ebisu and started hugging him. Ebisu was completely stunned and rocketed back because of his nose spouting blood geysers.

"That'll teach you to not mess with the future Hokage!" Naruto shouted as he dispelled the Bunshins and Henge.

"Aw man, I couldn't beat him again. Dang it!" Konohamaru shouted in a frustrated tone.

"Konohamaru, you can't get to the top immediately. You have to work for it, but you'll have to fight me once you get to the top, because I'll be there, waiting for you!" Naruto shouted as he ran home.

Sarutobi saw the whole episode through his crystal ball and thought with a genuine smile on his face, 'Thank you, Naruto, I think you changed Konohamaru for the better after that."

…xXx…

"Okay, class, today you will be meeting your jonin instructor and team members. When I call your name, please remember who your teammates are and your team number." Iruka said as he scanned the list of the teams and their members. The girls of the room began to titter and whisper after that announcement, giving Sasuke hopeful looks. The boy in question could only cringe and slouch in his seat.

Naruto smirked and whispered, "Sasuke, you know, this would all go away if you just got a girlfriend." His response was only a glare, and the blonde just chuckled as he squeezed Hinata's hand. Indeed, fangirls had chased him around almost as much as Sasuke, but with a little persuation on Neji's part, Hinata finally told him how she felt about him a year earlier. His fangirls suddenly ceased to exist and focused their sole efforts on Sasuke.

Iruka ran through the first six teams and then arrived at the seventh. In a loud voice, he said, "Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto..." Naruto cheered, "Hyuuga Hinata..." Naruto cheered even louder, and Hinata blushed as she smiled as well, "and Uchiha Sasuke!" Sasuke sighed deeply and cheered inside, Naruto was practically screaming, and Sasuke's fangirls groaned in disappointment. Iruka waited a few seconds for Naruto to shut up and finally snapped, "Naruto, I have other teams to announce! Team 8, Haruno Sakura, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba! Team 10, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji!" Iruka set down the team assignments on his desk and looked at his former charges. "Remain in this room and wait for your jounin instructors to arrive. Good luck with your new teams!" As he left the room, the students scattered around the room and acquainted themselves with their new teammates.

"I'm so happy we're on the same team, Naruto-kun!" Hinata said happily as she hugged Naruto.

"I think I'm the happiest that you're the female on our team, Hinata," Sasuke muttered with a shudder, "I'm glad that you're on our team, and not one of those scary fangirls."

It wasn't seen often, but Hinata had a dangerous sly side to her, and she made use of it as she asked, "What's to say that I'm not a fangirl?"

"Let's say...I just know..." Sasuke muttered under his breath as he looked at the happy couple, who smirked evilly at him.

...xXx...

"Where is that bum?" Naruto shouted angrily. It had been three hours and the other eight teams had already left with their jounin instructors, however...one team, specifically Team 7, was still waiting for their unknown jounin instructor to arrive.

"You know who it probably is, don't you, Naruto?" Sasuke mentioned, "There's only one person with a habitual tardiness problem, and we both know him."

Naruto thought for a moment, and then the person Sasuke mentioned came to mind. "Okay, that's it," he muttered, "If it's him, I'm playing a prank on him for being so late. Let's see, what's in here that I could use? Hinata-chan, do you see anything?" Naruto asked as he looked around the room.

"Don't get me involved," Hinata replied as she watched her boyfriend dart around the room. A minute later, Naruto found what he was looking for.

"Found it!" Naruto shouted triumphantly as he held up a chalk eraser. "Okay, this is good, how about I put it in the door so it falls on him when he comes in?" Naruto jumped over to the door and put the eraser up near the top of the door so it would fall on anyone who walked in and slid the door open.

'**So juvenile, but I admit it would be funny if he fell for it,'** Kyuubi thought as he watched the whole thing.

Hinata heard a creaking in the hallway and took a peak with her Byakugan, seeing enough to tell her boyfriend, "Naruto-kun, he's coming!"

A moment later, the door slid open, and the three genin saw a jounin with a mask covering his face from the nose down, wild, gray hair, and a Konoha hitai-ate covering his left eye before the eraser fell and plopped down on his head, covering him in chalk dust.

Hinata, Sasuke, and Naruto all had the same thing going through their minds: 'And this is a jounin? What a doofus...'

The jounin, once he cleaned himself off, declared, "Well, from my first impression, I'd have to say... (the three tensed up) I hate you!"

Hinata and Naruto fell backwards in their seats, and Sasuke thought, 'Wow, presumptuous, isn't he?'

The jounin started to walk out, and told his students, "Meet me on the roof in five minutes," and he left the room.

...xXx...

"Okay, now that you all are here, let's hear a little bit about all of you," the jounin said.

"What kinds of things, sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Well, the usual, favorite things, your hates, dreams, ambitions, hobbies, things like that."

"Why don't you go first, sensei, since we don't know anything about you and you can show us how to do it," Hinata said.

"Okay, then, my name's Hatake Kakashi. I don't really want to talk about my likes and dislikes, and my dreams are none of your business. Well, I have a lot of hobbies," Kakashi stated lazily.

"He said a ton, but all we learned was his name, and even that we knew already..." Naruto muttered in annoyance. Both of his new teammates nodded in agreement.

"Let's start with our lovely female," their leader said, giving Hinata a smile with his eyes.

"Okay, my name is Hyuuga Hinata. My likes are Naruto-kun and hanging out with my friends. I don't like when people judge others for no good reason. My dreams are to become my new clan head and change the Hyuuga clan for the better. My hobbies are training with my father, sister, and cousin and hanging out with Naruto-kun."

"Okay, you next," Kakashi said, pointing at Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like learning powerful jutsu and hanging out with my adopted family. I don't like criminals or when people threaten my family and friends. My dreams are to return the Uchiha clan to its former glory and to find the man who destroyed my clan. I guess my only hobby is training."

"Thank you, now you," Kakashi said as he pointed at Naruto, who was itching to start.

"Okay, my name's Uzumaki Naruto! I like Hinata-chan and ramen. I don't like when people glare at me or call me names because of my idiot tenant."

"**Feh**," the Kyuubi scoffed as he rolled over and went back to sleep.

Naruto continued, "My dream is to become the next Hokage, so people will respect me. My hobbies are hanging out with Hinata and Sasuke."

"Okay, then, now that we know each other a little better (Hinata and Naruto sweatdropped), let's get down to business. Tomorrow, we'll have our first mission, and it will involve only the members of this team," Kakashi explained.

"What will we be doing, Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked.

"In short, survival exercises. You see, only 9 of the 27 graduates will become actual genin. This is to weed out the ones that don't belong, per se," Kakashi said with a chuckle.

"Oh, great, so we only have a 33% chance of becoming a genin?" Naruto shouted angrily.

"Yep! Okay, here is the protocol for the mission tomorrow. Meet at Training Ground 7 at 8 AM tomorrow morning. Oh, and don't eat breakfast," Kakashi said as he handed out 3 scrolls and poofed away.

"Okay...that was just a tad odd..." Naruto muttered. Hinata and Sasuke nodded in agreement.

Sasuke added, "It is Kakashi, though." Naruto and Hinata conceded to his point.

...xXx...

"Good morning, you guys!" Kakashi said cheerfully as he arrived at the training grounds...3 hours late.

When Naruto heard him, he turned around and shouted, "YOU'RE LATE!"

"Sorry, I was helping an old lady across the street," he replied. Any retort Naruto was prepared to say was thrown out the window at the sheer ridiculousness of the excuse.

As his three students tried to figure out his excuse, Kakashi put his backpack down and pulled out an alarm clock, three bento boxes, and 2 bells on strings. He placed the alarm clock and bento boxes on one of the three stumps nearby, and started to explain the mission, "Okay, this clock is set to go off at noon. Your task is to get these bells from me before then. If you can't get a bell before then, you get tied to the stump, and I eat your lunch in front of you. And since there are only two bells, I get at least one lunch."

All three genin gulped, and their stomachs growled angrily. 'So that's why he didn't want us to eat breakfast,' they all thought, disgruntled.

"You may use any weapons you want, and you must come at me with the intent to kill. You have one hour. Begin!" Kakashi proclaimed, and the three genin dashed off in different directions.

...xXx...

Naruto jumped from tree to tree, trying to find one or both of his teammates, when he saw some movement in the bushes. He jumped down and saw Hinata partially concealed underneath a large bush.

"Hinata!" Hinata let out a small squeak. "It's me, Naruto!" Naruto whispered fast, so Hinata would calm down.

"Oh, Naruto, it's you," Hinata breathed, giving her boyfriend a welcome kiss.

Naruto, after rubbing his head in embarrassment, said quietly, "I think I know what the purpose of this test is. We have to work together to get those bells. Since there are only two bells, the test is designed to pit us against ourselves. Now, if only Sasuke was here-"

"No need, I'm here. Now, what do we need to do?" Sasuke asked as he jumped down from a tree.

"Okay, listen up. I'm only saying this once. First, we..." and Naruto started to explain his plan to his teammates.

...xXx...

Meanwhile, Kakashi was standing in a clearing, reading his favorite book, Icha Icha Paradise, occasionally letting out a perverted giggle.

'I wonder where my students got off to,' Kakashi thought as he read his book. 'They're probably thinking of separate plans to get me.' Some rustling in a nearby bush alerted him to Naruto's presence.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, I'm taking you down once and for all!" Naruto shouted as he confidently stood in front of Kakashi.

'All by himself, as I thought,' ran through Kakashi's mind, and he continued reading his book.

Naruto, annoyed at his sensei's behavior, charged Kakashi. He aimed a kick at Kakashi's head, but Kakashi ducked. Naruto, enraged, threw a punch next, but Kakashi disappeared.

"Allow me to show you Konohagakure's Most Sacred Taijutsu!" Naruto turned his head and saw Kakashi crouched on the ground behind him with his fingers in a tiger seal. "Sennen Goroshi (One Thousand Years of Death)!" Kakashi shouted with a mad glint in his eye as he shoved his fingers up Naruto's ass and sent him flying. Naruto squealed for a second, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. 'A Kage Bunshin!' Kakashi thought as his eye widened. He caught some movement out of the corner of his eye, but he saw it too late, as Hinata appeared behind him in a fighting stance, her Byakugan activated.

"You're in the range of my eight trigrams, sensei," she said softly before she exclaimed, "Hakke Nishou (Eight Trigrams Two Palms)!" while striking two of her teacher's tenketsu. She continued until she reached her sixty-fourth strike, shouting, "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!" Kakashi could do nothing except stumble backwards, with key points along his chakra network cut off. Hinata's joy at getting a hit in on her sensei quickly diminished as her teacher exploded with a puff of smoke, revealing him to have been a Shadow Clone.

Sasuke was in a nearby tree that provided a good view of the area, and when the clone was destroyed, his eyes shot to another place within a cluster of bushes. As he began to weave some signs, he muttered, "There you are. Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!" As he held his hand up to his mouth, a large ball of red-hot fire shot at the bushes he saw something in. Right before it hit, a figure darted out of the bushes and narrowly escaped being deep-fried.

Unfortunately, he jumped right into the path of Naruto, who had the chakra cloak of the Kyuubi surrounding him. The young blonde took a swipe at the bells with one of his chakra-enhanced claws, but Kakashi blocked it with his hands. Unfortunately for him, chakra wasn't bound by the same rules as flesh and blood, and the claw snaked around his arm and brushed the bells. Kakashi didn't like him getting that close to the bells and kicked his student away.

Back at Sasuke's hiding place, the real Naruto had joined him, and both were watching the battle. "Looks like taijutsu isn't the way to go," Sasuke muttered.

"Didn't we already establish that?" Naruto whined, rubbing his butt where Kakashi had so rudely poked it.

Sasuke ignored him and started to weave signs again. "Just get ready." Naruto pouted and started a string of his own as Sasuke finished his and fired another fireball at the two combatants. Naruto finished his string a few seconds later and pulled both of his fists back, shouting "Fuuton: Reppuken (Wind Release: Gale Wind Palm)!" before pushing one fist forward, followed by the other. Two large projectiles of pure wind chakra shot forward and hit the fireball, which blew up in a roar to twice its previous size.

Kakashi stopped his battle with the fox enhanced Naruto when he heard the 'whoosh' of growing fire, and his visible eye widened as he saw the fireball heading at him. That slight moment of distraction gave the clone the time to restrain Kakashi. The fireball engulfed the two, but as all three teammates thought, nothing was left afterwards. Hinata was the next one to spot him, and he was looking a little winded at this point. She jumped off of the branch she was on and landed near him. Naruto, two of his clones, and Sasuke joined her a second later, cornering Kakashi in a triangle formation.

Kakashi examined his new charges, trying to figure out what their next move would be. He wasn't in for a long wait, as the three genin soon made their move. Hinata bent her knees slightly as she assumed her Jyuuken stance. The original Naruto made one sign, and a moment later, ten Narutos stood where three had been, all baring kunai in each hand. Sasuke made the same sign as Naruto, but he only created one clone, and both settled into a taijutsu pose. All of the genin stood, carefully watching Kakashi, and they all tensed up when he moved, but it was only to put away his perverted book that he was reading. "I don't have all day. Come on, attack me!" he said forcefully.

Hinata didn't need to be told twice, as she charged straight at Kakashi, who turned to face her. She sent a jab at his heart, but Kakashi parried it, and punched her hard in the stomach. He was surprised, however, to see Naruto's face appear in pain for just a moment before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. "What?" he asked in surprise.

He turned to face the others, but that was all he could say, as one of Naruto's clones had appeared right behind him and turned back into Hinata, who said, "You're in my eight trigrams again, sensei!" She launched her Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou once more, and this time, after she completed the attack, Kakashi didn't disappear.

"He's real this time!" Naruto exclaimed, "Sasuke!" Kakashi twirled around and faced the two Uchiha standing alone, but twin cries of "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" came not from other there, but from the mass of Naruto clones to his left. Kakashi couldn't do anything except look at the massive fireball heading his way before he was engulfed in flames.

As the flames died down, the three genin plus the remaining clones observed that all that was left was a burnt patch of land, with the two bells lying there. "There's no way this is that easy…" Sasuke said suspiciously.

"Hinata, do you see him anywhere?" Naruto asked. Hinata glanced around with her Byakugan for a few seconds before shaking her head.

"He's not hiding in the trees anywhere within the training grounds," she reported, "I can't see him anywhere." She deactivated her Byakugan to conserve chakra.

"Hinata, you stay back. Naruto, slowly go for the bells," Sasuke ordered his teammates. He and his blond teammate slowly approached the scorched earth until they were right on top of the bells.

Hinata noticed it a second before her friends and teammates reached the bells. Her Byakugan flared to life, but her cry of "Look out!" was too late, as both Naruto and Sasuke disappeared and were replaced by Kakashi. As he picked up the bells, Hinata saw that the only thing that remained above ground of her teammates was their heads. "Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique). Care to try it out, Hinata?"

"Not hardly! Get him!" she cried, as the remaining clones charged at the jounin. However, a loud ringing in the distance stopped all movement.

"Well, it looks like time's up…" Kakashi said. He released his technique, and Naruto and Sasuke were soon able to dig themselves out of the earth, dispersing their clones as soon as they were out of the dirt.

"Would it be needless to say that you all understand the importance of teamwork?" he asked, though he already knew the answer to his question. His three students nodded in agreement, and he smiled. "Well, then you pass! Let's go get some lunch. There's nothing in those bento boxes anyways." In his head he thought, 'I should have listened to sensei more…'

"Ichiraku, here we come!" Naruto exclaimed triumphantly. Hinata and Sasuke could only shake their heads in amazement, while Kakashi looked at his charges in slight confusion, not knowing what his wallet was in for.

...xXx...

AN: Please review and stay tuned!

New Technique Guide:

Hatake Kakashi:  
Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)  
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)

Sennen Goroshi: One Thousand Years of Death

Hyuuga Hinata:  
Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)

Sarutobi Konohamaru:  
Oirike no Jutsu (Sexy Technique)

Uchiha Sasuke:  
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)  
Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

Uzumaki Naruto:  
Fuuton: Reppuken (Wind Release: Gale Wind Palm)  
Haaremu no Jutsu (Harem Technique)  
Oirike no Jutsu (Sexy Technique)  
Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multple Shadow Clone Technique)


	3. Team 7 Moves Out! To the Land of Waves!

AN: Chapter 3 is here!

Disclaimer: The author does not own _Naruto_, anything related to Masashi Kishimoto's works and ideas, except for characters, plotlines, or ideas invented by the author.

Chapter 3 – Team 7 Moves Out! To the Land of Waves!

Three figures darted through the trees outside the village gates, closely followed by a taller figure. The three shorter figures stopped on branches overlooking a clearing, and the taller figure came to a rest behind them. "Leader to team, do you see the target?" he said softly into the microphone.

"Byaku to leader, target spotted on the far side of the clearing," Hinata replied softly, her Byakugan trained on the target.

"Alright," Kakashi replied, "Kitsune, take the target. Housenka, you take back up." The other two figures nodded and shot into the clearing, tackling a small creature that noticed their arrival shortly before it was ambushed.

"Why do we always get stuck capturing this damn cat?" Naruto complained as he held the legs of the angry feline.

"Why do we have such stupid codenames?" Sasuke muttered in response. He spoke into the microphone, "Target confirmed. The Daimyo's wife's cat has been recovered."

"Stupid cat!" Naruto hissed as the cat began to scratch at him violently.

Hinata and Kakashi landed in the clearing with the two boys, and the jounin shook his head at the antics of his knucklehead student. "Come on, guys, let's report back to the Hokage," he said, as Sasuke and Hinata moved to Naruto's rescue, with minimal success.

Twenty minutes, Kakashi and Team 7 stood in the mission assignment room, waiting for their next assignment, while the Daimyo's wife strangled her cat in relief that it was alright. Everyone in the room minus the rather large woman shared the same thought: 'No wonder the cat runs away so much…' As the woman left with her aggrieved cat, Sarutobi quietly added another mission to the list of D-ranked missions.

"Okay, Team 7, today we have weeding the garden of an injured shinobi, finding the Daimyo's wife's cat again, or walking Konoha's ninja dogs. What will it be?" he asked as he looked over the various D-Rank missions left on the scroll.

"That's it, I'm tired of all these piddly missions! I want a C- or B-Rank mission! Let someone else find that dumb cat!" Naruto shouted angrily. Hinata and Sasuke said nothing but silently agreed with him.

"Naruto, the missions are assigned different ranks based on the difficulty and who can perform them," Sarutobi explained. He gestured to the scrolls on the table in front of him, "D- and C-Rank missions are Genin level, C- and B-Rank are for Chuunin, and B-Rank and above are for Jounin." Sarutobi paused and thought for a moment, regarding Kakashi's team carefully. "But...since you have done 10 D-Rank missions, I think I can let you have a C-Rank mission without too much worry. It regards the protection of a certain individual. Come on in!" The door to the room opened, and a partially intoxicated old man with a bottle of sake walked in.

"So these are the brats that have to protect me? Not much to get excited about...especially the super short one," the old man commented. Naruto looked slightly up at Hinata and Sasuke, comparing their heights to his, and then leapt at the old man in a blind rage. He had to be held back by Kakashi as to not destroy the old man.

"No, Naruto, we don't kill the client," Kakashi muttered to his student. He then turned to the client in question and said, "I'm so sorry, sir. My student here

"Who is this idiot? Who does he think he's talking to?" Naruto shouted as he squirmed against Kakashi's grip.

The old man smirked, and said, "The name's Tazuna. I'm a bridge-builder that's super famous worldwide." Naruto wrenched free from his sensei's grasp and scoffed at the elder man, not seeming too impressed.

'He doesn't look like anything special, but we have our orders, I guess.' Sasuke thought.

...xXx...

"Okay, let's go!" Naruto shouted as Team 7 and Tazuna started their journey towards the Wave Country. They were a few miles outside of Konoha on the main highway.

"Oi, Naruto, you realize the mission just started, right?" Sasuke asked. Naruto scratched his head for a moment and then ignored Sasuke's question.

"Um, Kakashi-sensei, will we have to worry about any enemy ninjas?" Hinata asked worriedly. Kakashi smiled at her with his visible eye.

"Since this is only a C-Rank mission, it's highly unlikely. Probably the extent we will have to deal with is some rogue samurai," he replied. Unnoticed by anyone, behind the rest of the group, Tazuna grimaced and started sweating a little as they passed a puddle.

Once the group was sufficiently past the puddle, 2 figures rose from the small pile of water. They wore Kirigakure hitai-ate, and they were equipped with giant claws connecting each other with a barbed chain. One of the figures tossed his companion, and he landed on the other side of Kakashi, surprising the group. The chain wrapped around Kakashi, and the two both whispered, "One little piggy." Yanking on the claw, the chain sliced Kakashi to shreds.

Team 7 and Tazuna gasped in horror and stared at what was left of Kakashi, and the two Kirigakure ninja appeared near Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke. They raised their clawed appendages, and whispered, "3 more little piggies!" They attempted to chain up Sasuke, but he nimbly dodged them and got around behind the two brothers. He threw a shuriken and drove the suspended chain into a tree. A kunai thrown by Naruto into the hole of the shuriken held it in place.

The two brothers quickly disconnected the chain connecting them and started to dash at the surprised kids, but Kakashi appeared and knocked the two out with quick chops to the neck.

"Well done, kids, nice work!" Kakashi said as he grabbed the unconscious Kiri ninja by their shirts and threw them over by a tree, having used a Kawarimi to escape their earlier attack. As he tied up the ninja, he thought, 'Looks like what I thought came true...' He turned to Tazuna, who was nervously looking around, and asked, "Tazuna-san, I have a distinct feeling that this is more than a regular, run of the mill C-Rank mission. Do you want to tell us something that might explain why those two ninja attacked us?"

Tazuna looked around some more and then started to explain, "Yes, Kakashi-san, there is more to the mission. Have you ever heard of Gatou?"

Kakashi's visible eye widened, and he asked, "You mean Gatou, the mastermind behind the marine transportation enterprise?"

Tazuna nodded and continued, "Yes. A couple of years ago, Gatou came to the Wave Country. He came under the pretense of business, but ever since he established himself there, he's taken all that we have, and everyone has lost hope." Team 7's eyes widened in shock. Tazuna continued, though his voice held a little hope, "However, 3 years ago, I started building a bridge that would span from the Wave Country to the mainland. Once it's completed, our country could become prosperous again, but Gatou sends various assassins after me on a routine basis. That's why I hired you under the guise of a C-Rank mission, because our country can't afford a B- or A-Rank mission."

Kakashi let that entire speech soak in. After silence for a few moments, he said with a sigh, "Well, then, there's only one thing to do...we'll have to continue to protect you, at least until we get to your home."

...xXx...

A couple miles away, a short man in a black suit accompanied by two samurai walked into an open room. A tall man with an extremely large sword was lazily slouching on a couch in the middle of the room. He had no shirt, striped pants, and camouflage leg and arm warmers. A boy, around 15 years old, stood behind the man on the couch. He had spiky black hair, a light blue t-shirt, khaki shorts, the regular weapon holders, and a Kirigakure hitai-ate. A hunter-nin mask was attached to his belt.

"Zabuza, your supposed 'Demon Brothers' failed miserable, so now I have to use my valuable men to kill Tazuna's bodyguards. Do you have ANYTHING to say for yourself?" the short man furiously spat out.

The man on the couch reached behind him and swung his sword around so it was inches away from the short man's nose, and said, "Gatou, there's nothing to worry about. I, Momochi Zabuza, will personally eliminate those bodyguards. You won't have anything to worry about," he said confidently.

"You'd better, or else you're fired!" Gatou muttered as he shakily walked out of the room, his bodyguards following, occasionally looking back shakily. Zabuza glared at their backs until they had left.

"Come on, Shiro, let's go see who these gnats are," he said as he got up and started to walk towards the back exit.

"Hai, Zabuza-sensei," Shiro said quietly, and followed Zabuza out the exit.

...xXx...

"Here we are, Tazuna-san," a man with a straw hat whispered shakily as the boat reached the shore.

Team 7 and Tazuna climbed out, and Tazuna turned to the man and whispered, "Thank you very much, I should never have asked you to do this for me."

The man shook his head and whispered back, "No, it's okay, just be careful," and he started to row back towards his home.

"Okay, we all need to be extra careful from here on out. I suspect Gatou will send out high-chuunin to low-jounin level ninjas, since those last two failed miserably on their mission," Kakashi explained as they walked along.

"Aren't you the smart one?" a voice rang out from in the trees. Everyone tensed up and suddenly heard a slicing sound cut through the air.

"Everyone, get down!" Sasuke shouted as he and Naruto grabbed Tazuna and pulled him down. Kakashi tackled Hinata and pulled her down as well. A giant sword spun through the air and stuck high into a tree. Zabuza appeared standing on the sword with his back to Team 7, and Shiro stood on the branch next to the sword.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Sharingan no Kakashi. If you please, surrender the bridge builder Tazuna, and there will be minimal violence," Zabuza drawled.

"Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of Kirigakure, what an honor. Looks like you gained a little Zabuza, Jr.," Kakashi said dryly, and then turned to his students, "Stay back, this guy is on a completely different level than those two from awhile ago."

Zabuza chuckled, and said, "Wrong, this is my apprentice, Shiro. He's just going to make sure no one interferes. Now, if you please, let's start, if you refuse to hand over the old man," Zabuza said. He wrenched his sword out of the tree and jumped onto the water, forming handseals. "Allow me to introduce my specialty. Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist Technique)!" he said in almost a whisper, raising one hand above his head and the other in front of his mouth in a sign. A thick fog began to cover the battlefield, and Zabuza faded from sight.

Kakashi raised his hitai-ate, and underneath was a shining red eye with three tomoe. Sasuke gasped and muttered in awe, "The Sharingan...so Dad was right…"

"Stand back, and protect Tazuna. Zabuza is a master of silent killing, so keep on your toes. I will take care of him," Kakashi snapped, and the three genin jumped back and surrounded Tazuna in a manji formation.

"Hahaha, there are eight targets: the throat, spinal cord, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian, kidney, and heart. Which should I pick?" Zabuza's voice shouted out from somewhere in the mist.

Hinata shivered in the cold mist, and she activated her Byakugan, trying to find the source of the voice. "Where did that come from?"

"From right behind you!" Zabuza hissed as he appeared between the genin and Tazuna. He swung his sword and knocked Tazuna and Hinata aside, but before he hit Sasuke, Kakashi appeared, thrusting a kunai into Zabuza's stomach and knocking Sasuke backwards out of harm. Naruto jumped back and stood guard over Tazuna, helping his girlfriend up in the process. Kakashi jammed the kunai further into the Kirigakure ninja's abdomen, but water started leaking out of the wound the kunai created, and Zabuza burst suddenly into a spray of water.

"Nice try!" a figure behind Kakashi shouted, and Zabuza swung his sword forward, slicing Kakashi in half, who turned into water as well. The swordsman's eyes widened in surprise

'He copied my Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique) in all this mist!' Zabuza thought, and then flinched as he felt cold steel against his throat.

"It's over, Zabuza!" Kakashi said confidently. Zabuza only chucked in response.

"Not quite, I'm no fool!" Kakashi's eyes widened, and the Zabuza in front of him turned to water, and the real Zabuza kicked Kakashi in the back. The Sharingan wielder did a backflip off of the ground and landed on the water, breathing heavily.

"You idiot! Suirou no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique)!" Zabuza shouted, forming handseals as he appeared behind Kakashi. A sphere of water rose and surrounded Kakashi and one of Zabuza's arms to the wrist.

'No, I thought I could regroup underwater! I made a serious tactical error!' Kakashi thought as he tried to figure out how to get out.

"You're trapped, that prison is inescapable! Shiro, get down here and finish these brats off!" Zabuza sneered.

The young man nodded and disappeared off of the branch, reappearing in front of the genin and Tazuna. Naruto and Sasuke both quickly created a Kage Bunshin each that took Tazuna and took him away to safety. Shiro watched him leave with a neutral expression on his face. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be. I don't want to hurt you. Just hand over the bridge builder."

"Like hell!" Naruto exclaimed, "Let's do this guys! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" In a flash, Naruto and his four copies charged at the young man, ignoring Hinata's cries of worry and Sasuke telling him to stop. Shiro didn't even blink an eye because as soon as Naruto's small army drew close enough, he disappeared in a blur. All of the clones were destroyed, and Naruto was sent flying backwards at his teammates. Shiro reappeared, smoothing his hair back calmly. However, his wrists and ankles were augmented by the appearance of miniature tornadoes.

"Fuuton: Shura Senpuuken (Wind Release: Berserker Whirlwind Fist)," he said calmly, "I hope you're prepared to be blown away, so to speak."

Naruto had slowly gotten to his feet by now, and Sasuke muttered, "Let's get a plan together this time before we charge in. Kakashi doesn't have an infinite air supply, either." Naruto coughed and looked the other way for a moment before the three genin huddled together. Shiro watched them silently as they made their plans.

A few seconds later, they broke apart, and Naruto created one more clone before both of them and Hinata charged at Shiro, who tensed up and readied himself. Hinata took the lead, as she thrust at the Kirigakure ninja with open palm strikes. Recognizing the threat of strikes from a Hyuuga, he settled for blocking with his wind enhanced fists. Naruto and his clone arrived as well with boxing gloves made of pure wind chakra, and both started to fight with the young man as well. This continued for a couple of seconds before Shiro pulled his fists into his body, and a wall of wind began to form around him before he shouted, "Fuuton: Bakufuuheki (Wind Release: Explosive Wind Wall)!" The wind suddenly exploded outwards, shattering one of Naruto's clones and sending the original and Hinata flying backwards.

Sasuke was ready, though, as he leapt into the air and shouted, "Katon: Hiendan (Fire Release: Flying Flame Bullet)!" before shooting a quickly moving fireball at the wind barrier.

Shiro immediately cancelled out his first barricade and weaved a few signs, shouting, "Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Encampment Wall)!" as a wall of water shot up around him, drawing water around from his sensei's earlier Kirigakure no Jutsu and the nearby lake. The flaming bullet slammed into the water wall, and while it didn't manage to penetrate it, it created a large cloud of steam that covered the immediate battlefield.

Sasuke didn't waste any time, and he charged through the mist towards Kakashi. Naruto and Hinata joined him a second later as they hurtled through the air at Zabuza. He didn't look all that worried though, and the genin soon found out why. Shiro teleported in front of them right before they were on top of Zabuza and shoved his hands out in front of him in a cupped arrangement. "Fuuton: Tatsumaki Bakutoppa (Wind Release: Tornado Explosive Breakthrough)!" None of the genin of Team 7 could react before they were blasted back from the lake by a concussive blast of wind.

Sasuke hit the ground a few hundred feet away and managed to get back on his feet, as did Hinata, but Naruto skidded and was unable to get to his feet as he dug something out of his backpack. "Sasuke, catch!" he shouted right before disappearing, chucking an object Sasuke's way. The young Uchiha caught it in the air and unfolded it, revealing a Fuuma shuriken. Making a quick movement with his arm, he reared back and launched it at Zabuza. At the same time, twenty Naruto clones appeared from nowhere and charged at Shiro, keeping him occupied. The shuriken homed in on Zabuza, who still didn't look worried.

"Is this the best your students can do, Kakashi?" he asked, chuckling, "Childsplay." He caught the first shuriken, only to open his eyes in horror as a second one appeared in the shadow of the first. "Shit…Kage Shuriken no Jutsu (Shadow Shuriken Technique)!" he hissed in recognition before leaping over the second one. He breathed a sigh of relief as he muttered, "I didn't expect your genin to be so crafty, Kakashi…"

"Oh yeah? Then watch this!" a voice behind him. Zabuza whirled around in horror and saw that the 'shuriken' was actually Naruto, who had dispersed the Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique). The hyperactive blond pulled out a kunai and launched it at the Kirigakure missing-nin. Zabuza had nowhere to go, as the kunai was aimed right at him, and he finally pulled the arm within the water prison free to avoid the kunai. However, he couldn't avoid a small cut on his cheek, and that was just enough to make him mad. Naruto hit the water and was quickly back afloat, but a voice above him stopped him in his tracks.

"You're dead, brat. Dead." Naruto looked up, frozen stiff in fright, as Zabuza swung downwards with the shuriken he had caught earlier, but it was blocked by a freed and drenched Kakashi.

"I appreciate the help, Naruto. Excellent teamwork," he panted heavily, "However, you might need to assist your team. That boy is powerful." Naruto nodded and ducked back under water, swimming towards the shore.

…xXx…

Meanwhile, Sasuke and Hinata were having a rough time keeping away from Shiro, who had come back into the fight after he staved off the small army of clones Naruto had produced. The young man had reactivated his tornado fists, and while he appeared to be fatiguing a little, he was still outmaneuvering both the Hyuuga heiress in close combat and the young Uchiha in long range. All three were running low on chakra. Shiro had put out a lot using all different kinds of techniques, Hinata's low supply was due to her continued Jyuuken strikes, and Sasuke had used most of his own on Katon techniques in a failed attempt to take advantage of Shiro's continued use of Fuuton techniques.

Currently, Sasuke was back resting for a moment, while Hinata was attempting to get a strike in with her Jyuuken. All of the jabs she sent anywhere near his arms were deflected by the tornados around Shiro's wrists, acting a lot like shields as well, and her attempts to attack his legs were met with the same result.

She was soon relieved, however, as Naruto barreled into the scene from the air, shouting loudly, "Fuuton: Reppuken!" His hands, now covered with wind chakra, collided with Shiro's fists in a loud shockwave. Hinata just barely escaped the shockwave, seeing her boyfriend's approach with her Byakugan, and she rejoined Sasuke to watch the struggle.

Both wind users quickly locked fists in an attempt to gain the upper hand on the other. Neither was able to for a minute or two, until Shiro noticed a red coloration leaking into the chakra around Naruto's wrists. 'What is that?' he wondered mentally. He looked up at his foe's eyes and saw that their normal blue had darkened to a demonic red, and the irises had narrowed into slits. 'Who is he?' he thought as he began to worry a little. He was even more surprised as he began to be pushed backwards. 'What?' he thought in shock, and he tried to pump more chakra into his arms, but he was met with a twinge of pain from overexerting his chakra supply.

All four young adults also felt the shockwave from near the lake, and Shiro said, "Well, it appears it is time for me to take my leave." He suddenly whipped out his legs and swept Naruto's own before wrenching his hands free. He made a quick sign and disappeared in a gust of wind.

...xXx...

Back at the lake, Kakashi had quickly gained the upper hand in the battle and had pinned the swordsman to a nearby tree. "Damn you, Kakashi!" Zabuza screamed as the kunai dug into his arms and legs.

The Copy Ninja appeared on a branch above him and said in a condescending tone, "Zabuza, I can foresee your fate, and your fate is death!"

Zabuza growled through his pain and snapped back, "I'll get you Kaka-" but was silenced by the two senbon that sliced into his neck and silenced him. He fell limp against the tree and didn't say another word.

Team 7 and Tazuna arrived in time to see a Kirigakure hunter-nin throw the senbon that had penetrated Zabuza's neck. The hunter-nin jumped down and grabbed Zabuza's lifeless body. "I'll take it from here. Thank you for weakening him!" the hunter-nin said in a sweet tone.

'She's a girl,' Kakashi thought, but he couldn't elaborate, because the hunter-nin Shunshin'd away. 'But still, something's not right about this...' Before he could think of anything else, he fainted because of chakra depletion.

...xXx...

AN: Please review and stay tuned! Extra kudos to whoever can figure out where I got some of Shiro's techniques from.

New Technique Guide:

Hatake Kakashi:  
Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique)

Momochi Zabuza:  
Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist Technique)  
Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique)  
Suirou no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique)

Shiro:  
Fuuton: Bakufuuheki (Wind Release: Explosive Wind Wall)  
Fuuton: Shura Senpuuken (Wind Release: Berserker Whirlwind Fist)  
Fuuton: Tatsumaki Bakutoppa (Wind Release: Tornado Explosive Breakthrough)  
Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Encampment Wall)

Uchiha Sasuke:  
Kage Shuriken no Jutsu (Shadow Shuriken Technique)  
Katon: Hiendan (Fire Release: Flying Flame Bullet)

Uzumaki Naruto:  
Kage Shuriken no Jutsu (Shadow Shuriken Technique)


	4. The Demon of the Hidden Mist Lives!

AN: Here's Chapter 4! bigking nailed the bonus question, kudos to him.

Disclaimer: The author does not own _Naruto_, anything related to Masashi Kishimoto's works and ideas, except for characters, plotlines, or ideas invented by the author.

Chapter 4 – The Demon of the Hidden Mist Lives! Battle for the Bridge!

Kakashi lay covered by a sheet on a futon inside the house of Tazuna and his family, looking more than slightly uncomfortable with the predicament he put himself in. Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter was standing over him, fussing over his injuries.

"Really, sensei, did you have to exhaust yourself like this?" the woman asked testily, "I thought you ninja were hardier than this."

"Yeah, well, the Sharingan does that to a person," Kakashi said sheepishly. He looked around the room and noticed Naruto looking a little puzzled, so he asked, "Naruto, is everything alright?"

Startled, the young blond looked up and said, "It's just that hunter-nin that came in during the battle. She was so creepy, you known, and she killed Zabuza so easily when you had to do everything in your power to win."

Kakashi nodded and explained, "Yes, hunter-nin are assigned to destroy the bodies of prominent shinobi after death so the secrets of their techniques sealed within their bodies can never be used again. It's understandable why you would...think...so..." His visible eye widened when he thought about what he had just said.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's wrong?" his student asked worriedly.

"It's that Zabuza might not be dead yet!" Kakashi said grimly.

Naruto's eyes widened. "What makes you say that?" he inquired.

"Think of what that hunter-nin used to 'kill' Zabuza for a second, and it will make sense," Kakashi said.

"She used senbon, what about...them?" Sasuke asked, he and Hinata having just walked in, and then he too realized what happened.

"Senbon can induce a deathlike trance when thrown in the right places," Kakashi said, "so chances are Zabuza is alive, and that hunter-nin is on his side. I suspect he'll be at full power again and in position to attack again within the week, so we'll have to train to get ready for him."

...xXx...

The hunter-nin teleported into a large clearing a couple of miles from the battle and laid Zabuza down on the ground. Before she started working on Zabuza's body, she took off her mask and pulled out her bun of long, black hair, freeing herself from the restraints of her guise. She pulled out a kit with various tools inside, selected some scissors, and moved towards Zabuza.

"I need to drain the blood out of his mouth, and then I can safely take out the senbon," she said to herself as she was preparing to cut off Zabuza's cloth mask, when his hand shot up and stopped her's from coming any closer.

"I can do it perfectly fine myself!" Zabuza growled as he ripped away the bandages. Haku frowned at him as he carelessly yanked out the senbon that put him into the trance and spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Zabuza-sensei, please, don't pull those out any which way," Haku said quietly.

"Yeah, whatever. You have the skill of a butcher, you know that?" The sound of a tornado started to grow louder, "And besides, your brother is back. Go make sure he's okay, I'm just fine," Zabuza grumbled as he stretched his weak body. Shiro jumped down from the tree and deactivated his Shura Senpuuken, panting slightly

"Wow, I haven't seen you have to use that technique for awhile now, nii-san," Haku commented. Shiro just silently stared at his sister and then at his wounded mentor.

"I couldn't help it. The person I was fighting had a sort of unknown power. It was interesting; he was able to create multiple Kage Bunshins without any effort whatsoever and then keep on fighting with no effort at all. That's why I had to resort to my more advanced techniques," Shiro said quietly. Zabuza slowly pulled himself up so he was sitting up on the ground.

"Okay, listen up, you two. There's no room for error. Not only do they have one of Konoha's most talented jounin on their team, they have a Hyuuga, Uchiha, and the son of the current Hokage as well," the elder man stated grimly, "We cannot afford to take them lightly."

"That blond is the son of the Hokage?" Shiro said incredulously, "He has no strategy whatsoever except to make a ton of clones and charge in."

"But he managed to pull Zabuza-sensei out of his Suirou no Jutsu with the trick he pulled," Haku reminded him, "And he uses Fuuton chakra, just like you." Shiro glared at her, and she giggled. Zabuza rolled his eyes at his two charges.

...xXx...

"Okay, today you will learn how to climb trees using only your feet and chakra," Kakashi, leaning on some crutches, said to his three genin. The four were out behind Tazuna's home in the forest. "This will help you gain better chakra control, and it might give you an edge in a battle if used correctly. What you do is focus your chakra into your feet and use that power to cling to the trunk. Watch me and then try it yourself." Kakashi hobbled over to a nearby tree, focused chakra into his feet, and walked up the tree until he stood upside-down on a branch.

"Wow, that's pretty cool!" Naruto said in awe. Hinata nodded as she observed her sensei with her Byakugan, and Sasuke grunted, also closely observing his teacher.

Kakashi threw 3 kunai at the feet of the genin and continued, "Use these to score your progress. Once you master this skill, you may guard Tazuna at the bridge."

"Alright, let's do this!" Naruto shouted in excitement.

"Naruto-kun, there's no hurry. We've got three days to work on it," Hinata said softly, smiling at her boyfriend.

"Yeah, but knowing you, you'll be done with it in like a day and a half!" he shot back, causing the Hyuuga girl to blush deeply.

"Alright, alright, stop with the mushy stuff," Kakashi said good naturedly, "Let's get started." The three genin concentrated their chakra into their feet, and then ran at the trees. Sasuke ran up about 4 yards before his feet cracked the trunk of the tree, and he fell off. Naruto got up about 2 feet just by forward momentum and then slammed into the ground headfirst. Hinata, however, managed to get about halfway up the tree on her first try, and she was sitting on one of the branches, even higher than Kakashi's.

"Very impressive, Hinata, very good job," Kakashi said, somewhat surprised. 'Sasuke and Naruto don't surprise me, though. Sasuke doesn't have as good chakra control as someone like Hinata and Naruto's special chakra makes it almost impossible to control it in a fine-tuned manner. Though, if I get him to improve that…it would make him extremely dangerous' he thought. Hinata and Kakashi walked back down the tree.

"Well, keep on practicing, and I think Naruto's guess of Hinata's progession will be pretty accurate if she keeps it up today, and you two boys will be able to the day after that with some good hard work," Kakashi noted. The three genin nodded and charged back up the tree once again.

After the three had climbed the tree some more, Hinata was able to reach the top third of the tree, Sasuke could get to about halfway, and Naruto was a little below Sasuke. 'They learn fast, I'll give them that, and Naruto's ability to adapt is quite amazing. Sensei taught him well' Kakashi thought.

...xXx...

Sasuke and Naruto diligently continued to climb the tree until the end of the day and into the next, with Sasuke always about a foot higher than Naruto. Currently, Sasuke was at about three-quarters of the way up the tree, and Naruto was very close behind. The two had stopped to take a break on a branch to refresh their chakra via some soldier pills.

"Hope Hinata-chan's having fun guarding that grumpy old man, eh, Sasuke?" Naruto asked as they took a break.

"Yeah, this is a lot more practical, and somewhat entertaining," Sasuke responded, "Hey, Naruto, you up for a little sparring match?"

"I'm always up for something like that!" Naruto responded, and he jumped down from the tree and into a basic taijutsu stance. Sasuke did the same.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as 4 Kage Bunshins surrounded him. "Okay, boys, let's go!" the original shouted, and the 5 Narutos charged Sasuke.

Sasuke formed some handseals and responded with a shout of, "Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)!" as a large wave of fire shot at the Narutos, frying the Kage Bunshins and singeing the real one.

"Ow, that actually hurt, Sasuke!" Naruto complained, "But I've got a killer new move I've been working on. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" and 6 more Narutos appeared. The Kage Bunshins started climbing the tree, and once the top one was high enough, he held onto the tree, and all of the rest held onto the ankles of the one above him. The real Naruto jumped up, swung on the last one, and was propelled into the air so his back was to the sun. Suddenly, Naruto threw two small spheres into the air, which erupted in a flash of blindling light and a cloud of smoke. He and the top two clones jumped down and towards Sasuke. Sasuke shielded his eyes and started coughing, but a large gust of wind blew through and took the smoke with it. Sasuke's eyes quickly readjusted and he destroyed the clones and kicked Naruto away. The other Kage Bunshins dispersed, and Naruto tumbled backwards onto the ground. "Man, it didn't work! It would have worked if the wind hadn't come through. Aw man!"

"Still, that technique looks like it had potential in the right circumstances," Sasuke commented, "You're lucky you have so much chakra thanks to the Kyuubi."

"Yeah, the big furball can be useful at times," Naruto said with a large grin, ignoring the rebuttal heard inside his head. "Let's go back to the old man's house. We've practiced enough for now, I think. Besides, I'm hungry!" Sasuke couldn't argue with that, and the two began to walk back to the house.

Soon, Hinata and Tazuna returned from work, and Team 7 and Tazuna's family, including Tsunami's young son Inari, were all eating lunch. After a while, Hinata noticed Inari look at a torn picture on the wall, so after lunch was over, she asked Tazuna about the picture. "Tazuna-san, who is that picture of? I noticed Inari looking at it a couple of times during lunch."

Tazuna shifted uncomfortably and said, "The torn part is where Inari's father was. He was considered a hero and a champion by the Wave Country even when Gatou had started his oppression. That is, until Gatou executed him under false pretenses of treason and conspiracy." Tazuna and Tsunami were both crying by now, and Inari had dashed out of the room. Hinata didn't really know what to say, looking almost like she wanted to cry herself, and Naruto comforted her by wrapping her up in a one armed hug.

...xXx...

After dinner later that night, Naruto and Sasuke had gone out for some more training, and Hinata was left alone with Kakashi and Tazuna and his family. "Kakashi-sensei, do you mind if I ask you a question?" she asked tentatively.

He smiled at her with his visible eye and responded, "Sure, Hinata. What's up?"

"It's just…" she hesitated to try to find the right words, "I really wasn't much use when me and Sasuke and Naruto-kun battled Zabuza's apprentice." She looked really down as she said that.

Kakashi was a bit worried by how sad she sounded, and he asked, "Why would you say that? From what I heard, he could hardly keep up with you."

"I guess, but I couldn't actually get any strikes in on him. Those vortex fists or whatever he called them kept interfering with my Jyuuken," she said dejectedly.

"I wouldn't worry too much. I don't proclaim to be an expert on the taijutsu styles of the Hyuuga, but I do think I know what the issue is," Kakashi replied.

Hinata looked shocked and then enthusiastic as she asked quickly, "Really? What is it?"

"Well, here's what you can do…" and he started to explain to the young Hyuuga what she could do to improve her skills.

...xXx...

Two days later, the clattering of dishes in the kitchen caused Naruto to jerk awake in his makeshift bed in the living room. "…wha…what? What time is it?"

Tsunami came in when she heard the noise. "Oh, Naruto, you're awake. Kakashi-sensei said for you to relax today since you overexerted yourself yesterday while training. They went on ahead with tou-san to the bridge."

Naruto looked around and started to get prepared extremely fast. "Aw man, they left without me!" he pouted. Tsunami shook her head and went back to washing dishes with Inari. Naruto dashed through the kitchen, shouted a quick "Thank you," and ran out the door.

Naruto leapt up into the forest and started running through the trees. He was almost halfway to the bridge when he noticed something in the woods. 'What's that? I'd better take a peek,' Naruto thought.

…xXx…

Meanwhile, when the rest of Team 7 and Tazuna arrived at the bridge, Tazuna's workers laid half-dead all over the bridge. "What the hell happened here?" Tazuna shouted as he ran over to one of the workers.

"They came without warning...watch out…" the man said right before he fainted. A thick mist started to roll in.

"Uh oh, they're here! Everyone to your posts!" Kakashi shouted. 'I knew it' he thought.

"Well, well, long time, no see, Kakashi," a voice reverberated through the mist. "And you brought the brats and Tazuna as well...how convenient." The Konoha ninja arranged themselves around Tazuna in a protective formation facing the general direction from where the voice came from. "Feh, you can't even keep yourselves from shivering in fear. The Uchiha looks like he's about to have a seizure..." Suddenly, 5 Zabuzas appeared around Kakashi, Hinata, Sasuke, and Tazuna.

"No, I'm shaking with excitement, that's all!" Sasuke muttered with a smirk. He disappeared with a blur, and the Zabuzas surrounding him dispersed into water. Sasuke reappeared in the middle of the puddle of water with two kunai in his hands.

The mist thinned out a little, and Zabuza, Haku, and Shiro walked out of the mist. "Well, it seems my Mizu Bunshins aren't exactly the most effective measure anymore," Zabuza noted. "That's unfortunate. Shiro, Haku, go take the two brats while I deal with Kakashi."

"Hai Zabuza-sensei!" the two shouted, and they appeared in front of Sasuke and Hinata. Shiro kicked Sasuke back behind Tazuna, and Haku grabbed Hinata's arm and flung her back away from Sasuke, effectively separating the two teammates.

...xXx...

"Well, it seems you want a one-on-one battle," Sasuke said as he wiped the blood off his mouth from the hard impact.

"For now, yes, but if my sister needs my assistance, then I will help her," Shiro responded. He formed some hand signs and then whispered, "Fuuton: Shura Senpuuken," and once again, tornadoes surrounded Shiro's ankles and wrists.

Sasuke glared at the tornadoes and asked, "What kind of technique is that?"

Shiro held a face of stoicness and replied, "It's the technique that will finish you off. Please, don't blame me if you get injured," Shiro said right before he disappeared.

'Where'd he go?' Sasuke thought, but he didn't have time to wonder because Shiro appeared right behind him. Before Sasuke could react, Shiro brought his leg back and kicked Sasuke right in the side. Sasuke felt as if 1000 swords had just sliced into his side, and he screamed and fell to one knee, blood gushing from the open wound.

'Damn, he's good. I'll need to pull out all the stops. I can't afford to not give my all,' Sasuke thought.

...xXx...

Meanwhile, Haku and Hinata stood, staring each other down. After a minute of this, Hinata wordlessly activated her Byakugan and charged at the young Kirigakure ninja. Haku just smiled and pulled out two senbon. As Hinata drew close to her, water started to condense around the senbon, and Haku was able to barely stop the Hyuuga's strikes with two short ice swords. "Ice?" Hinata asked softly.

Haku nodded softly and replied, "That's right. It's a kekkei genkai, just like your Byakugan, Hyuuga-san. However…" she pulled back and pushed Hinata's arms away from her with her ice swords and continued, "…my Hyouton (Ice Release) techniques are not going to be broken easily." Hinata's white eyes examined the pikes of ice carefully before she smirked and jabbed at them with her hands. Haku didn't expect anything different and put her swords up in a defensive position once more. However, she was shocked when Hinata's palms shattered the ice. "What? What have you done?" Haku asked, more out of curiosity than anger.

"I've learned to use my chakra in more ways," she replied softly, "It was actually your brother that aided in that. My teacher gave me some advice on how to deal with chakra based hand weapons and defensive tools seeing as I couldn't keep up with your brother a few days earlier."

"I see," Haku murmured, "It appears I can't take you lightly then. Prepare yourself, Hyuuga-san. I will not hold back." She charged towards Hinata, her fists quickly covering in a coat of ice, while Hinata leaned back into a battle-ready stance.

...xXx...

Back at the other fight, Sasuke started a long string of hand seals, ending in the Tiger sign.

'What's he planning? The tiger sign probably means another Katon (Fire Release) technique, considering his Uchiha background...I'd better be careful," Shiro thought.

Sasuke pushed chakra into his feet and took a charging leap towards his opponent, shouting, "Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!" He held his hand to his lips and shot out a wave of fire that shot towards Shiro.

'Oh, damn, no time to block it! I'd better move it!' Shiro frantically thought as the fire soared towards him and created a gigantic explosion upon impact.

"Hey, super idiot, don't destroy the bridge!" Tazuna angrily shouted from where he was standing with his men.

Sasuke skidded to a stop, breathing hard, when he saw Shiro appear to his right, obviously worn down. The tornadoes on his left wrist and ankle had been extinguished, with those same joints sporting some nasty burns, and his clothing on the left side of his body was also singed "Nice try, Uchiha. That was a pretty potent technique. I would've been incinerated if I hadn't blasted myself out of the way," Shiro gasped.

"You're just a regular speed demon, aren't you?" Sasuke asked with a smirk. Shiro replied with a similar smirk.

...xXx...

Haku and Hinata were furiously exchanging strikes, with Hinata's pinpoint accuracy chipping away at Haku's ice and tenketsu, and Haku's icy boxing gloves pounding some bruises into Hinata's soft skin. However, when Haku felt the explosion that resulted from Sasuke's Ryuuka no Jutsu, she fearfully thought, 'Shiro-nii-san needs my help. I need to get away!' She saw where the Mizu Bunshin turned into a pool of water and came up with and idea. She blocked two of Hinata's strikes and made a dash towards the pool, and Hinata followed close behind.

"You can't escape!" Hinata said, though she was worried that her opponent was heading back towards her brother.

"Who was trying to get away? I was just trying to get to this pool of water," Haku responded, stopping in the middle of the water. As the ice user's icy gloves melted away, Hinata threw a jab at her, but Haku blocked it with one of her hands. "Big mistake, Hyuuga-san. First, I have you trapped, and second, we're surrounded by a pool of water, which is perfect for my next technique," and Haku started making one-handed hand seals.

'What? How can she make hand seals with one hand?' Hinata thought worriedly.

"Hyouton: Sensatsu Suishou (Ice Release: Death by a Thousand Water Needles)!" Haku shouted, and stomped the water with her foot, causing it to fly up and form into a thousand needles of water that shot at the young Hyuuga. The needles shot into her, and Hinata fell to the ground without another word.

"I'm sorry I had to do that, but my brother needs me," Haku said softly. She made a sign and disappeared in a swish of water.

She reappeared right in front of her brother, blocking a kick aimed at his head by Sasuke. The young Uchiha's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the new arrival, but he acted quickly. Using his caught leg as a pivot, he swung out with his other foot and kicked the young woman away from her brother. He unfortunately went with her because she still had his leg, but it was alright, as she needed to be contained.

"Hakke…" Shiro froze as someone appeared behind him, "Rokujuu Yonshou!" The wind user was unable to do anything as Hinata, very much conscious, began to assault his keirakurei furiously. After her final strike, Shiro fell to the ground, now the unconscious one…and burst into water.

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise, and he exclaimed, "What?" He looked down, but his 'captive' had also melted into water as well. He sensed something coming towards him and turned around to see two blurs moving towards him through the mist. He pulled out two kunai, and prepared to defend himself when another blur, this one orange, moved in front of him and stopped Shiro and Haku.

"Need some help, Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he held Shiro and Haku back.

Sasuke smirked and said, "Took you long enough, you idiot."

...xXx...

AN: Please review and stay tuned!

New Technique Guide:

Haku:  
Hyouton: Sensatsu Suishou (Ice Release: Death by One Thousand Water Needles)  
Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique)

Shiro:  
Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique)

Uchiha Sasuke:  
Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)


	5. Battle for the Bridge!  Team 7, Fight!

AN: Here's Chapter 5!

Disclaimer: The author does not own _Naruto_, anything related to Masashi Kishimoto's works and ideas, except for characters, plotlines, or ideas invented by the author.

Chapter 5 – Battle for the Bridge! Team 7, Fight!

"Okay, Sasuke, what do you propose we do now?" Naruto asked as he started to weaken against the combined strength of Shiro and Haku.

"Well, for starters, why the heck are you here? Kakashi wanted you to rest, you dummy!" Sasuke glared at Naruto as he pulled himself up off the ground.

Hinata ran over to Sasuke and shouted, "Naruto-kun, please don't overexert yourself. I don't want you getting injured!"

"Don't worry about me, Hinata-chan! I have a rock hard head!" Naruto shouted back.

"And maybe a brain of rock as well..." Sasuke muttered. Luckily, Naruto didn't hear him.

"As I was saying, I was heading here, but I kinda slept in for about three hours thanks to a certain Kakashi-sensei who didn't wake me up (his voice elevated at this)! Second, I had to stop halfway over here and come back to stop some of Gatou's thugs from killing Inari and Tsunami, and then I had to travel the whole way back, which took forever, but now I'm here and ready to kick butt!" Naruto shouted. Some pressure on his hands got his attention back on the battle at hand.

"Interesting. I have had a desire for a rematch since our last fight in the forest, Naruto. This is the perfect opportunity," Shiro said.

"Yeah, same here. And this time, I will win!" Naruto confidently replied.

Shiro smiled, and looked at Haku, who nodded, and the twins jumped back and started forming hand signs. Naruto fell backwards in surprise and fell on his face. The two slapped their middle hands together and made one final sign with their free hand, shouting, "Hyouton Hijutsu: Makyou Hyoushou (Ice Release Secret Technique: Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors)!" Water from the air and river started condensing and freezing until Naruto was surrounded by a dome of thin ice sheets.

"What the heck are these things?" Naruto shouted, looking around worriedly at the ice panels.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-san, but this time, you won't escape alive," Shiro said with an almost regretful tone. Haku stepped towards one of the mirrors...and walked into it. Her image appeared on one mirror

'What the heck is this technique?' Naruto thought frantically.

...xXx...

Kakashi, at the mention by his name, lazily glanced over at Naruto just in time to see Shiro and Haku form their technique. His visible eye widened, he pulled up his hitai-ate, and he gasped when he viewed the technique through his Sharingan, "Zabuza, what kind of technique is that? What have you taught those children?"

Zabuza smirked as he looked over at his charges. "I didn't teach them that. It's something they've known their entire life. That is the kekkei genkai those two children were born with."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "Kekkei genkai? From Kirigakure? How is that possible?"

"I know what you're thinking," Zabuza replied, "They barely escaped the kekkei genkai holocaust there with their lives. It was then that I found them. They have the ability to form a new element, Hyouton (Ice Release), through their special god-given gift. And, since it is a kekkei genkai, you can't copy it with your piddly little Sharingan."

"I wasn't planning on it," Kakashi muttered in reply, "Your techniques have worked pretty well up until now to provide me for awhile."

The Kirigakure missing-nin chuckled and said, "That's not going to rile me up, Kakashi. Not any more."

Kakashi just stood there, surprised, and looked back over at Naruto. 'Be careful, Naruto. If you three can handle the twins, I can finish off Zabuza.'

...xXx...

"Okay, Naruto, witness the power of teamwork only twins can achieve!" Shiro shouted, and he formed a long string of hand seals, shouting at the end, "Hyoumai: Futago Hasami Uchi (Ice Dance: Twin Pincer Attack)!" Shiro stepped towards one of the mirrors, walked into it just as Haku had done, and came out as a spinning tornado filled with ice shards that shot from mirror to mirror. Naruto, being caught right in the middle, was sliced up by the tornado and by Haku's senbon flying around. When Shiro and Haku ceased their attack, Naruto was on one knee, gasping for air and bleeding from cuts all over his body, various senbon and ice shards sticking out of him.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata screamed in horror, and she started running towards the ice mirror dome.

"Hinata, no, you'll get caught up in it, too!" Sasuke shouted, but Naruto's girlfriend wouldn't listen and she kept running, so Sasuke started running to try and stop her.

Shiro jumped out of one of the mirrors and landed in front of Hinata, with his wrist tornadoes active. "I'm afraid I need to stop you, Hinata," he said softly, and he ran at Hinata and punched her in the stomach, and then in the face. The young Hyuuga flew backwards and landed on the ground, motionless, blood starting to leak from her side and mouth.

Sasuke suddenly felt a blazing chakra in the direction of the ice dome, and he looked over and saw Naruto surrounded in a red chakra, vaguely shaped like a fox. Naruto suddenly disappeared and Sasuke felt him reappear next to Hinata. Naruto's back was still turned towards Sasuke, but Sasuke still felt an ill omen coming from the young man.

Hinata slowly opened her eyes, and saw Naruto crouched beside her. She smiled and said slowly, "Naruto-kun...I'm sorry...I tried to help you...but that guy's too powerful...just make sure you get him back for me...goodbye...and...let them have it..." Naruto's eyes widened and he started growling deeply.

Inside Naruto's head, Kyuubi was starting to get worried. **"This isn't good. It looks like my chakra starts flowing into him whenever he gets really angry, regardless of whether I allow it or not."**

Naruto slowly stood up, surrounded by red chakra, and he turned around towards Sasuke and Shiro. His eyes were blood red with slits in the middle, his facial whiskers were more defined, and his hands were claws. In addition, a red cloak of bubbling chakra had quickly covered him as well, along with a tail and foxes ears. "You'll pay for that! You hear me, Shiro?" Naruto bellowed in a threatening voice. He glared at Shiro and disappeared once again. Shiro's eyes widened as Naruto reappeared next to him and punched him back towards the ice dome, slamming him into one of the mirrors.

"Sasuke." Sasuke stiffened and listened to Naruto's growling voice. "Take care of this guy. I'll handle the one with the mirrors!" Sasuke, not wanting to make Naruto mad at the moment, nodded, and charged at Shiro, who had just gotten back to his feet. Naruto started walking towards the mirrors slowly. He stopped right in the middle of the ice dome and stood there, waiting.

Haku stared for a second at the young man from her vantage point in the mirror, and then said, "Naruto-san, what do you fight for?"

Naruto stood silent for a moment, and then growled, "I fight for myself and nothing else."

Haku replied, "Don't you have anyone to protect?"

Naruto's eyes widened and he started holding his head, screaming out. The red chakra started to dissipate, and his eyes and face started to return back to normal. "Y-yes, I do...I want to protect my family...Kakashi-sensei...Sasuke...and Hinata-chan, and I will by defeating you on my own, and not in cold blood!" Naruto shouted, back to normal. Suddenly, he felt someone brush up against his back, and he turned around and saw Sasuke standing there, and Shiro running back towards the dome, looking as if he had gotten scorched by Sasuke's Katon technique.

"Okay, listen up, fool. We're working as a team, got it? You watch my back, and I watch your's. Hinata's sacrifice won't have been in vain." Sasuke said firmly.

Naruto looked over at his fallen girlfriend and nodded solemnly. "Alright, let's do it your way."

Shiro was leaning up against one of the mirrors, and Haku appeared in it. "This has taken too long. Shiro, we need to finish them!" she said as she prepared some senbon. Shiro nodded, pulled out some kunai, and charged at Naruto. Naruto pulled out a kunai as well and kicked Shiro back into the ice dome, and soon he and Shiro were darting around inside the ice dome, clashing in kunai struggles. Sasuke, on the other hand, was busy trying to dodge Haku's dash from mirror to mirror. As the battle wore on, he started noticing something. He was able to see Haku's attacks more and more clearly. Although he was taking injuries from her senbon, he was managing to avoid more and more of her attacks. Once he analyzed Haku's attack pattern, he grabbed her leg as she jumped by him and flung her back into a mirror. She slammed into the mirror, and slumped to the ground. When she looked back up and at Sasuke, she gasped.

"His eyes...they're Sharingan!" Haku said to herself. Indeed, Sasuke's eyes had turned a crimson red, the left one with one tomoe and the right with two tomoe.

'I can see, even if it is just a little bit!' Sasuke thought. Shiro came flying over and landed near Haku. Naruto jumped over and landed by Sasuke, and looked at him, his eyes widening.

"Sasuke...you have Sharingan!" Naruto shouted.

"Wait, what? Are you serious? That's why I can see her movements so well!" Sasuke replied ecstatically.

"Don't get happy. We still need to beat these two," Naruto responded. Sasuke nodded and the two disappeared. Haku and Shiro groggily got up, only to get kicked up into the air by Naruto and Sasuke, smashing through the mirrors at the top of the dome. Naruto and Sasuke kicked their opponents twice, got above them, and spun down, kicking them in the stomach. Haku and Shiro both hit the ground hard, and the ice mirrors shattered.

"Finally, it took long enough," Naruto said as he breathed heavily.

"Yeah, but I think you should go tend to Hinata, she needs you more than anyone right about now," Sasuke replied. Naruto nodded, and started to run towards Hinata when one of the twins stirred, and Haku whispered in a barely audible voice, "Please…don't leave yet. We need you to help us."

Sasuke said, "Why? Why do we owe the two of you any thing! You tried to kill us!"

Haku murmured, "The only reason we did it was because Gatou ordered us to. Shiro and I have nothing against you two personally."

"What do you want us to do?" Sasuke turned around and saw Naruto standing with his back to them, "Give us one reason we should help you out!"

"Please...please help us save Zabuza-sensei. He doesn't want to do anything bad to you, either, even if he doesn't seem like it. However, your sensei doesn't know that, so please…help us!" Haku pleaded before she faded from consciousness.

Sasuke started to say something, but Naruto cut him off, "Okay, that's fine, I believe you. Sasuke, help Haku, I'll get Shiro." Sasuke, just not up for arguing, nodded and went to help Haku. Sasuke picked her up, bridal-style, noticing her legs were almost completely shattered. Her mask was close to falling off, having been shattered into multiple pieces, and Sasuke threw them aside before picking her up. Naruto lifted Shiro's arm and put it around his shoulders, and the two genin started to slowly walk over towards where they had left Kakashi and Zabuza when they felt a spike of chakra in that direction.

"Naruto…" a voice said near the blonde genin. Naruto looked startled and noticed that Shiro had come to, "Naruto, may I borrow some chakra? I think Zabuza-sensei needs my help." Naruto nodded and pumped some chakra into Shiro's body. "Okay, that's enough, thank you." He started making handseals, and whispered, "Fuuton: Shura Senpuuken," and tornadoes erupted from his wrists and ankles. Shiro let go of Naruto and dashed towards Zabuza.

...xXx...

While all of that was going on, Kakashi and Zabuza had engaged each other, and Kakashi was currently reeling from a large gash in his chest. After Kakashi had seen what the twins were capable of, he knew he needed to stop the fight and quick, before those twins could show off any more of their strength.

"So, ready to give up, Kakashi?" Zabuza sneered, his large sword dripping with Kakashi's blood.

"Not in the least," Kakashi replied as he pulled out a scroll, unrolled it, and wiped some of the blood from his chest wound on it. The scroll rolled back up, and Kakashi started making hand signs. "Let's finish this right now. One last move, winner takes all," Kakashi continued, "Doton Kuchiyose: Tsuiga no Jutsu (Earth Release Summoning: Tracking Fang Technique)!" he shouted and slammed the scroll into the ground.

From somewhere in the mist, Zabuza shouted, "Your stupid movements won't do you any good, Kakashi, just give it up and hand over the old man!" Zabuza prepared to attack, but he heard something approaching him. He looked down, where the bridge was starting to break, and eight dogs popped out of the concrete and chomped onto his body.

"Okay, Zabuza, let me tell you two things. I won't give up, and what I see in your future...is death!" Kakashi said as he stood back up and started making handseals.

"Haven't you had enough of bluffing your way out of things?" Zabuza asked, though he still felt a tinge of fear.

"No, this was determined the moment you fled Kirigakure. Now, enjoy what's left of your life!" Kakashi shouted. He finished his hand signs, and sparking lightning chakra started to gather in his hand. He held his hand towards the ground and shouted, "Raikiri (Lightning Cutter)!"

'Damn, what is this? His chakra's visible!' Zabuza thought, really starting to get afraid now.

Kakashi stood with his hand down for a few moments, and then charged towards Zabuza. Right before he reached Zabuza, two tornadoes came out of nowhere and blocked the Raikiri.

"Don't...hurt...Zabuza-sensei!" Shiro muttered as he struggled against the Raikiri.

"Kakashi-sensei, listen to him! They aren't the real enemy!" Naruto shouted as they reached Kakashi.

"What are you talking about, Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he noticed his Raikiri was starting to fail.

"They're doing this because Gatou is forcing them to; they really have no reason to fight against us!" Naruto explained.

Kakashi thought for a moment, and then said, "I admit it makes sense, but we kind of need Gatou here to confirm it. Nevertheless, I'll trust them for now," and he deactivated the Raikiri. Shiro fell over from pain and exhaustion and promptly passed out. Kakashi's nin-dogs disappeared and Zabuza started breathing heavily.

"Well, well, it looks like the so called 'Demon of the Hidden Mist' has been humbled quite a bit. Isn't that sad?" Kakashi, Zabuza, Haku, Shiro, Naruto, and Sasuke turned around and saw, as the mist began to disperse, Gatou and an army of about 1000 assassins, samurai, and general ruffians standing on the unfinished side of the bridge.

"Damn it. This is the last thing we need to have happen to us," Kakashi muttered.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, "Who are these guys?"

"The short one in front is the man who hired Zabuza and his team. His name's Gatou and he's pure scum," Kakashi explained grimly, "I assume the rest are hired thugs."

"Kakashi." Kakashi looked over and saw Zabuza leaning heavily on his sword. The dog bites were all bleeding rather profusely, and he was panting from exhaustion.

"What is it?" he asked carefully.

"Could I ask you to clear out a good portion of these idiots Gatou has brought with him? I want to finish that fat toad on my own."

Kakashi considered the missing-nin for a moment and finally said, "Yeah, I can do that. Naruto!"

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei?" he said excitedly.

"We need to clear out these fools. Do you have enough chakra left to make some Kage Bunshin?" he asked. His answer from his student was only a sly grin.

"You're worthless, Zabuza," Gatou cackled from across the bridge, "You've allowed yourself to be beaten by these lowlifes, and now you're resorting to asking for their help. I thought so much better of you!" Gatou cackled.

"Shut up! Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, and the bridge was soon filled with Narutos. The hired thugs all stepped back in fright at the now formidable army they were forced to face, and Kakashi did one better by forming some quick hand signs. Before long, twin water dragons had formed from the river and were wiping out large numbers of the thugs. Naruto's clones were soon to join in with the fight, and the original was also preparing to join when a voice nearby stalled him.

"Hey, kid…hold a second." Naruto turned and turned to Zabuza, who was looking towards Gatou at the back of the mob with an odd look in his eyes. "I need a kunai, and my arms are all messed up, so I can't get one of mine. Could you give me one?" Zabuza asked softly. Naruto looked at him for a second and then nodded. He pulled one out and tossed one Zabuza's way, and Zabuza caught it in his uncovered mouth, as his bandages had loosened throughout the fight.

He took a charging run towards the remainder of Gatou's army, and the men were quick to notice, as they began to shout, "Protect Gatou-san at all costs." Zabuza was undeterred, though, and even though Gatou's thugs stabbed and sliced at him repeatedly, he was undeterred in his mission, and he reached the back of the pack where Gatou was cowering.

"No, don't do it!" he screamed in fear.

"Don't worry. You'll find out what true pain feels like when you're burning in hell," Zabuza grunted before he reared back and sliced the head off of the small man, permanently stopping him from ever endangering the world again. Soon after, he fell to the ground as well from his wounds.

While Kakashi and Sasuke went to tend to Zabuza and the remainder of the late Gatou's troops, Naruto ran over to Hinata, where she was still laid out on the ground. Naruto tried shaking her to get her up, but she wouldn't. Naruto started crying and he picked her up, sobbing. However, a hand caressing his face snapped him out of it, and he looked down to see Hinata staring into his eyes.

"Naruto-kun, what's going on?" she asked slowly. Naruto's eyes began to leak tears of happiness as he hugged his girlfriend tightly.

...xXx...

AN: I apologize for the short chapter. I was trying to get this wrapped up. Please review and stay tuned!

New Technique Guide:

Haku:  
Hyouton: Makyou Hyoushou (Ice Release: Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors)  
Mahyoumai: Futago Hasami Uchi (Ice Dance: Twin Pincer Attack)

Hatake Kakashi:  
Doton Kuchiyose: Tsuiga no Jutsu (Earth Release Summoning: Tracking Fang Technique)  
Raiton: Raikiri (Lightning Release: Lightning Cutter)

Shiro:  
Hyouton: Makyou Hyoushou (Ice Release: Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors)  
Mahyoumai: Futago Hasami Uchi (Ice Dance: Twin Pincer Attack)


	6. Move Out! The Chuunin Exams Loom!

AN: Here's Chapter 6! Let's start a new arc!

Disclaimer: The author does not own _Naruto_, anything related to Masashi Kishimoto's works and ideas, except for characters, plotlines, or ideas invented by the author.

Chapter 6 – Move Out! The Chuunin Exams Loom!

"And that's what happened, sensei. It really was a different kind of experience for my students, that's for sure," Kakashi explained. He was standing in the Hokage's office, giving his post-mission report for the Land of Waves mission. Minato was sitting behind his desk, patiently listening to his former student.

"That certainly sounds like your team had a chaotic time," he replied, "But, I trust they learned some valuable experience?" Kakashi nodded, though his eye was focused on his Icha Icha Paradise book in front of his face. Minato shook his head in amused disbelief. "Kakashi…are you listening to me?"

His student's visible eye looked up before he put the small book away with an obvious show of regret. "Yeah, I am. They've all improved their chakra control by a great deal, especially Hinata. With only a little advice from me, she figured out how to use her chakra in new ways to combat attacks she couldn't have defended against with her rudimentary Jyuuken skills."

Minato nodded, looking extremely impressed. "I'll have to tell Hiashi about your assessment. He'll most definitely be pleased." Kakashi nodded again, immersed once again in his book, but his teacher wasn't done with him yet. "Now…what about my boys?"

"You've probably already heard about it, but Sasuke's awakened his Sharingan. I'll begin training him in the finer aspects of it. His taijutsu is progressing quite nicely, and his Katon techniques looks well rounded," Kakashi stated, and Minato nodded with a smile on his face. "Naruto's abilities have also improved. His use of Kage Bunshin is already proving to be on par with some jounin, and he adapts to the situation at hand quite well."

"Excellent!" the blonde Hokage said happily. "Is there anything else?"

Kakashi looked thoughtful for a moment before something came to mind. "Actually, there is. I think my team deserves to have the mission upgraded to A-ranked for all of the trouble that we had to go through," he said bluntly, "Is that possible?"

Minato thought for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, I think that can be arranged. I'll deposit the pay into your account and deliver the rest of it to your students by myself."

"That sounds good. If that's all, sensei, I'll be off," and Kakashi disappeared in a poof of smoke.

…xXx…

Naruto and Sasuke were in the backyard of the Namikaze estate. Both were sweating quite profusely, and Naruto had already shed his jacket. The boys were sparring lightly, using their downtime to get some practice in before their next mission came up. Currently, they were sitting on the back porch, sipping on some water.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" a voice shouted from inside the house. The two boys turned around to see Kushina walking outside. "Are you about done? Your father will be home soon, and you need to be ready to go by the time he gets done."

"Come on, Mom!" Naruto complained, "Dad won't be home for another hour!" The look on Sasuke's face indicated that he also wanted to continue sparring for a little longer.

"Well…I guess I could give you a little longer…" Kushina said slowly, and the boys exchanged high-fives of victory. However, the red head wasn't done, as she said, "…but you'll have to fight me!"

Sasuke grinned in anticipation as his eyes flashed crimson, revealing the Sharingan. He and Naruto leapt back into the backyard, and Naruto flashed a single sign before twenty clones appeared with them. "Bring it on, Mom!" they all shouted confidently.

"As you wish," she replied, smiling sweetly. A second later, twenty clones of her own appeared next to her. Pointing her arm to the sky, she shouted, "Alright, girls! Let's do this!" All of them leapt into the sky and charged right at the young men she looked after.

"Naruto! I've got this!" Sasuke exclaimed. He jumped to the front of Naruto's small clone army and began a string of hand signs, ending with a shout of, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" He held a hand to his mouth and shot out a large fireball at the clones of his adoptive mother. The clones did nothing to stop it and just smirked as they were engulfed with the flames.

Naruto noticed it right as Sasuke did, and he and his clones jumped towards him, shouting, "Look out!" They arrived there just as the fireball exploded in an unnaturally large blast, knocking both of them to the ground.

"Good job, my son, but that's not enough to save you!" a voice behind them said. Before the two young men could react, someone moved at extreme speeds and took out all of Naruto's clones before either could react. As they stumbled to their feet and turned around as quickly as possible, Kushina appeared before them, looking quite different. Her eyes were a demonic red color, and the irises were mere slits, while her hands and feet were covered by pure red chakra, giving them the appearance of claws. "Remember, boys. The Kyuubi was once my tenant, and I know how to use the chakra he left me ten times better than you do, Naruto."

"**Yeah, and she was even louder than you at times, brat…**" the demon fox lord muttered from within his cage.

"Fuuton Kage Bunshin (Wind Release Shadow Clones)…" Sasuke muttered, glancing backward at the smoke cloud, "My idea wasn't the best in retrospect."

"Well, maybe not the best, but with anyone else, it probably would have been a good move," Kushina responded lightly, "but…surprise attacks won't work on me, son." She turned around and kicked Naruto in the stomach, sending him flying backwards. He landed softly on the trunk of a nearby tree and stuck there. He had assumed a one tailed form and had tried to sneak up on his mother from behind.

Sasuke pulled out two of his kunai and held them out in front of him in a battle ready position. "Naruto!" he exclaimed, and the blonde nodded. Both boys charged towards their mother, but she didn't flinch. As they were right about to strike, she grabbed each of them and flung them in opposite directions. Sasuke slammed into the tree Naruto had just left, and Naruto barely managed to recover and plant himself to the side of the house with his chakra. Neither boy could prevent the shining chains that shot around then and bound them to the surfaces they were in contact with, though, and Kushina grinned in triumph.

"Looks like I win again, boys. Now get inside and get cleaned up. We have a dinner to get to soon," she said, dropping her chakra covering and the chains restraining Naruto and Sasuke. Both boys fell to the ground and got up pouting. They didn't look much happier as they stalked past their mother and into the house. Kushina just chuckled and followed them in.

…xXx…

A little over an hour later, Naruto, Sasuke, and their parents were at the entrance to the Hyuuga clan's estate. All four were dressed in kimonos of varying designs and colors. Minato was wearing a light blue kimono, Kushina's was a deep green, and Naruto's was the same orange as that which he wore on a regular basis. All three of theirs bore on the back the same spiral, which was the mark of the Uzumaki clan. Sasuke's kimono was a dark blue, and it had the famous Uchiha fan on the back.

They were met at the front gate by Hyuuga Neji, who was dressed in a more traditional outfit that he normally sported. "Hokage-sama, Uzumaki-sama, it is good to see you. Naruto, I trust your mission went well?"

"It was awesome!" he replied happily, "I can't wait to do on another one!"

Neji smiled faintly at him and said, "Don't get too excited. They're not all they're cracked up to be. If you'll come with me, I'll take you to the main dining room." Minato and Kushina nodded and walked in, with Naruto close behind.

As Sasuke passed by him, he said simply in an even tone, "Hyuuga."

Neji responded with a neutral glance and an utterance of, "Uchiha." Sasuke gave a small snort and continued in with the rest of his family. Neji rolled his eyes and pulled the gates shut before following the Hokage's family.

He led them into an inner room within the mansion, set up in a traditional fashion. A long, low to the floor table was the centerpiece of the table, but there were only a few people seated at the table. Hiashi was seated at the head of the table, and to his right was his wife, Hyuuga Hanaka. She was a tall and graceful woman who shared her deep indigo hair with her daughter. Across from her were Hyuuga Hizashi, his wife Hyuuga Setsuko, and a spot presumably for Neji. Next to Hanaka were Hinata and her sister Hanabi, and the rest of the seats were empty. Hiashi stood up as the guests arrived and walked over to Minato, bowing slightly when he grew near. "Hokage-sama, it is truly an honor for me to have you in my house for the evening."

"The pleasure is all mine, Hiashi. I'm just looking forward to your wife's amazing cooking," Minato replied with a small smile on his face. Hanaka smiled at him from her kneeling position at the table.

Hiashi turned to Kushina next and bowed to her as well. "Uzumaki-sama, you look beautiful as always." He carefully took her hand and kissed it lightly.

"You should watch out, or I might steal you away from Hanaka, Hiashi," she replied slyly, giving her good friend seated at the table a quick wink. Hanaka shook her head in disbelief at Kushina's coyness.

Hiashi next turned to Naruto, and the young blonde immediately tensed up under the wilting gaze of his girlfriend's father. "Naruto…" he said slowly, "I trust you behaved yourself while on your mission?" The hidden meaning behind the question was not lost on the young man, who was shaking rather hard.

"Um…uh…yeah…of course, Hyuuga-sama," he stuttered, still avoiding the piercing eyes of the Hyuuga patriarch.

Hiashi gave him a rare smile and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm just messing around with you, Naruto…mostly." Naruto smiled shakily as he stumbled past him and went for his seat next to Hinata. Hinata grabbed his hand and squeezed it comfortingly, but that did little to settle the young Uzumaki's trembling. The head Hyuuga turned to the last member of the Uzumaki party that he hadn't yet talked to and said simply, "Sasuke. I trust you are doing well?"

"Yes, Hyuuga-sama. Thank you for asking," Sasuke replied, equally polite. Hiashi nodded and went back to his seat at the head of the table, clapping his hands as he sat down. A couple of the Hyuuga who Naruto knew to be talented in the culinary arts brought in some dishes, and the meal began.

There was some small talk here and there, but Minato started the first true conversation by saying, "Hiashi, I have some good news for you from Kakashi. It seems Hinata has done some expanding on her skills of Jyuuken." He went on to explain how Kakashi had seen witnessed Hinata's adaptation of the Jyuuken style after giving her just a few hints. Said Hyuuga was blushing deeply and acting very embarrassed at hearing the Hokage singing her praises the way he was.

Hiashi nodded proudly, giving his daughter a look of utmost admiration. "I'm looking forward to seeing this progress tomorrow during our morning training, Hinata. Excellent work."

"Me too, sister!" Hanabi chirped, "That sounds really neat!"

"I think this might be a little beyond your skill level, Hanabi," Hanaka said softly, "You might need to wait a few years until you can learn such techniques." Hinata's little sister just frowned in obvious disagreement but didn't pursue the subject more.

As dessert was being served, something Naruto and Hanabi were about to die over, Minato began to rummage around in his kimono. "There is one other thing, Hiashi, that I thought I'd bring up while all of us are present, or more specifically, all of Team Kakashi," Minato said, pulling a few pieces of paper from within his kimono.

Hiashi nodded, saying, "I figured this would be coming up sooner rather than later. I trust Kakashi has given his recommendations regarding the matter, Hokage-sama?"

"That he has. Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata," he said in an authoritative tone, "Are you ready to take your stills to the next level?"

"Sure, Dad, but what's this all about?" Naruto said, though his face was a mask of confusion. Sasuke and Hinata shared his look of confusion. Neji, however, looked like he had some idea of what the Hokage was talking about, and all of the adults present were grinning knowledgeably. Hanabi was the only one who wasn't really paying much attention, and that was because she was too preoccupied with her dessert.

"Well, as you may already know, the chuunin exams are coming up within the next week, and I wanted to gauge your opinion, as Team Kakashi, what you thought of applying to enter," Minato said simply, "As I already stated, Kakashi believes you can handle it, and I don't have any doubt whatsoever that Naruto and Sasuke would be able to handle it. I just wanted to get Hiashi's approval before I shot my mouth off too soon and said Hinata wasn't ready yet, even though it's my personal opinion that she is." Hiashi nodded thoughtfully at the last remark.

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Hokage-sama, and it is my pleasure to say that I will allow Hinata to participate in the chuunin exams," Hiashi stated, "I have no doubt that Kakashi has prepared them extremely well."

The grins on the faces of the three rookie genin were enough to last all of the people present for the rest of the night.

…xXx…

A week later, the three genin of Kakashi's were standing in the lobby of the ninja academy. Their teacher stood before them, almost appearing to block any further progress they were attempting to make.

"Well, are you prepared for the next step, you three?" he asked carefully, examining each and every one of them, "This won't be easy. Talented ninja from around the world will be here, and a lot of them will have had a lot more experience than you. Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this?"

"Of course we're ready, Kakashi," Sasuke said confidently, "You know it, we know it, and even the Hokage knows it." He held up the examination form and handed it to his teacher, who took with little to do.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei. We've trained a lot this week," Hinata said quietly, "I think we can handle it." She also handed Kakashi her form, and he looked mildly surprised before giving her an encouraging smile.

"Let us at 'em, Kakashi-sensei! We can take anything anyone throws at us!" Naruto exclaimed, bouncing over and handing his form to Kakashi as well.

"I see. Well, head on up to the third floor. That's where the first part of the test is. See you," and with that, he disappeared in a poof of smoke. All three genin rolled their eyes and made their way towards the staircase.

As they walked down the hallway upstairs, they ran into a crowd of people near the classroom they were supposed go to. Naruto looked rather confused as he said, "What's all the commotion about?"

Sasuke's face was set in determination as he replied, "I'm about to find out," before disappearing into the crowd. Naruto took Hinata's hand in his own before moving in after him.

It didn't take long for them to reach the center, and Naruto and Hinata had joined their teammate just in time to watch with him as another genin was slapped back from the door and landed on the ground. He was dressed from head to toe in a green jumpsuit, with orange arm and leg warmers. His black hair was in a dorky bowl cut, and his large eyes were framed by huge black eyebrows. His two teammates were standing nearby, and one went to help him. She was dressed in a battle-savvy, Chinese-style outfit, and her brown hair was up in twin buns. The third member of the team was one all of Team Kakashi knew well. Hyuuga Neji nodded his head towards them before turning his attention back to the two standing in front of room 301.

Both were wearing Konoha hitai-ate, and they appeared to be slightly older than Team Kakashi and potentially the same age as Neji's team. One had his fist extended from where he had knocked back the kid on the ground from Neji's team, and the other had two oversized kunai strapped across his back. Both had a cocky look spread across their face.

"If you can't handle a wimpy punch like that, then there's no way you can handle the chuunin exams," the one who had punched the kid said, retracting his fist to his side.

"We aren't letting you into this classroom unless you can prove to us that you are worthy of being even considered for the chuunin exam," the kunai-armed one added snidely.

A voice saying her name grabbed Hinata's attention away from the door's guards, and she saw Neji motioning to his eyes. Sasuke also saw the hint when Neji's line of sight moved to him. Both kekkei genkai wielders activated their respective traits and immediately picked up on what Neji had indicated. Sasuke snorted and began walking away from the scene, causing the kunai-wielding ninja to spit out, "And where do you think you're going?"

"To room 301. We're on the second floor, dummy," he shot back, not looking back as he continued walking.

Both of the young ninja chuckled, and the crowd began to twitter excitedly as they noticed the sign over the room change from 301 to 201. The one armed with the kunai whispered, "Alright, smartass. Let's see if you see through this…" With that, he dashed towards Sasuke, preparing a roundhouse kick.

The gasp from the crowd clued in Team 7 that something was happening, and Sasuke turned around in time to see the older genin aiming the kick at him. The young Uchiha prepared a counterattack by pulling back his fist, but neither one was able to get their attack off. The older genin's leg and Sasuke's fist were caught by the green-clad genin who had been knocked to his rear just a short while ago.

"Please, it is not necessary to fight," he said in a surprisingly polite tone, "Getting expelled from the exam is not good for the image of Konoha." Sasuke backed off with nary a fight, while the elder genin made a noise of displeasure and stalked off in the other direction, with his friend following. Sasuke continued down the hall with his team, all the while thinking, 'That kid is hiding something…' His teammates were also thinking similar things. Little did any of them know they were followed down the hallway.

As they arrived in an open area where the staircase up to the third floor was located, a voice behind them made them stop. "Uchiha Sasuke-kun, please wait a moment!" Team 7 turned and saw the green-clad kid standing behind them.

"Yeah, what is it?" Sasuke asked curiously, sizing up the kid who obviously knew more than he led anyone to believe.

The kid put up a palm in a battle ready pose, grinned, and said, "My name is Rock Lee. I wish to have a battle with you!"

Sasuke was surprised by the odd proposal for a moment, but he recovered and smirked at Rock Lee. "Yeah, sure why not. Let's go down there, where there's more space." He jerked his thumb to the open area below the staircases and leapt down soon after. Lee was quick to follow.

"Hey, what about me?" Naruto exclaimed angrily, leaping down quickly and getting in between the two.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said worriedly as she followed the rest of the genin down, albeit taking the staircase in a more composed manner, "We need to get to the room upstairs."

For once, Hinata's voice didn't snap the young blonde from his funk, and Naruto continued saying, "I'll fight this guy, Sasuke. I hope you don't mind because I'm not backing down."

"Uzumaki Naruto-kun," Lee said, recognizing the Hokage's son instantly, "I do not wish to fight you at the moment."

"Quiet!" Naruto snarled, "Let's do this!" and with that, he charged at the spandex clad ninja. He brought up his hands in a familiar hand sign and exclaimed, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Soon, five Narutos were charging at Lee.

However, before they could touch him, Lee disappeared in a blur. The clones and original didn't know where he went and halted in confusion. A shout of "Konoha Senpuu (Leaf Whirlwind)!" startled all of them, as Lee appeared in their midst, sharply kicking the clones, causing them to disappear with pained expressions on the faces, and finally the original, who was sent flying into the wall and promptly knocked out. Lee landed gracefully on the ground and resumed his battle ready position. "Now, let us begin, Sasuke-kun," he said plainly. Sasuke merely nodded, though sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead.

…xXx…

AN: Here we go

New Technique Guide:

Hagane Kotetsu:  
Kokohi no Jutsu (False Place Technique)

Rock Lee:  
Konoha Senpuu (Leaf Whirlwind)

Uzumaki Kushina:  
Fuuton Kage Bunshin (Wind Release Shadow Clone)


End file.
